Holding her stomach with her hands, Qiao Jiusheng stood in the living room. When she saw Jiaren Wu, she immediately smiled. “Miss Wu, welcome.”
Jiaren Wu was rather embarrassed.
She had been an intern police officer for two years and had been working at the headquarters for half a year. This was the first time she had visited someone else’s house. She carried a fruit basket and seemed a little uneasy. After handing the fruit basket to Aunt Jin, Jiaren Wu went to the corridor at the back of the house with Qiao Jiusheng and sat down. She took a sip of coffee and ate strawberry mochi. After that, she felt a bit more at ease.
Her sitting posture was straight and upright at first. Gradually, she relaxed and rested her hand on the armrest of the chair. Her back was no longer stiff.
When Qiao Jiusheng saw that she had really relaxed, a faint smile flashed across her eyes.
When women were together, there were always many topics to talk about.
Jiaren Wu told Qiao Jiusheng about the interesting things she had encountered at work. For example, one time she was on duty with her colleagues on the road and met a pregnant woman who went into premature labor; her water had broken. In an emergency, Jiaren Wu had directly let the pregnant woman get into their police car. In the end, the pregnant woman had a second child, and the child’s head came out before they reached the hospital.
Jiaren Wu was the only girl in the car. She had no choice but to act as the midwife. “I used to hear people say that giving birth is very painful, but that mother broke my thoughts about women giving birth. Really, it only took a few minutes. After giving birth, that mother acted like nothing had happened. She was talking and laughing.”
Qiao Jiusheng smiled and said, “I was worried at first, but after hearing what you said, I don’t think it’s a problem anymore.”
“You can’t say that.” Jiaren Wu stared at Qiao Jiusheng’s growing belly and said, “I also know a colleague’s wife. It was difficult for her to give birth. She had chosen to give birth naturally, but in the end, she made a mistake and was forced to undergo a cesarean section.” Afraid that these words would scare Qiao Jiusheng, Jiaren Wu quickly stopped.
“Good people are blessed by god. Ah Sheng, you’ve endured so much hardship. You’ll still be safe even when you give birth.” Almost everyone in Binjiang City and Junyang City knew about Qiao Jiusheng and Qiao Jiuyin. Jiaren Wu was also a police officer, so she naturally knew about this.
Some time ago, after Qiao Jiuyin had gone to prison, Chief Song had said that Qiao Jiuyin had a heart of venom.
Instead of talking about having children, the two women then talked about makeup and clothes.
At the mention of this, Jiaren Wu couldn’t stop complaining. “As police officers, we can’t put on thick makeup. At most, we’ll put on light makeup, the especially light kind. We can’t keep our hair long either. When we’re out as part of the police force, we have to wear hats. At this time, they usually ask us to hide our hair in a hat. The worst thing is that we can’t wear heels more than four centimeters long. In the summer, we can’t wear sandals even if it’s so hot that we collapse!”
Qiao Jiusheng exclaimed. “I can’t tolerate not wearing heels!”
“That’s right! It’s freezing in the winter, and you have to wear a police coat. Not even a black down jacket.” After work, Jiaren Wu would try her best to dress up herself. Female police officers had the right to love beauty.
Qiao Jiusheng laughed when she heard her ridicule.
She sighed and said, “Every profession has its troubles.” The saddest thing about being a police officer was that they always dealt with dangerous people and lived on the edge of danger. In this world, only a few police officers had nothing to do, were corrupted, and committed crimes.
People only saw a certain police officer driving a luxury car into a high-class hotel. They did not see any other police officer getting injured or even dying to protect the normal citizens.
Qiao Jiusheng suddenly asked, “Then why are you a police officer?”
Since it was not good to be a police officer, why did she have to be one?
This was probably what everyone wanted to ask a police officer.
Most police officers would say that it was for their dreams. However, some honest people would say that being a police officer was a good profession. There were vacations, and as civil servants, they would get money to buy a house.
Jiaren Wu’s smile faded.
She shook her head and softly said, “I became one because I have to be a police officer to do certain things.”
What did the police have to do?
Catch the bad guys.
Qiao Jiusheng stared at Jiaren Wu and felt that this person had a story to tell.
At this moment, Aunt Jin received another call. She picked it up, and after some time, hung up. She then said to Fang Yusheng, “Young Master Yusheng, there’s a Mr. Wei outside looking for you.”
Fang Yusheng had been reading on the sofa the whole time. When he heard this, he put down his book. He was about to pick the person up when Aunt Jin said, “He came here by himself.”
“Okay.”
Qiao Jiusheng heard the commotion and asked Fang Yusheng, “Who is it?”
Fang Yusheng said, “It might be Brother Wei.”
When Qiao Jiusheng heard this, her expression changed slightly.
Why did Brother Wei suddenly come?
She looked at Jiaren Wu with a complicated gaze. Jiaren Wu was holding a cup of coffee and drinking it. She did not realize that the Big Brother Wei Fang Yusheng was referring to was the person who had the deepest bond with her. Qiao Jiusheng thought of her previous life. Wei Shuyi had drawn Jiaren Wu’s image on paper time and time again, and his eyes were always filled with nostalgia and complex emotions. When she thought of this, she felt terrible.
It seemed he would eventually meet someone he should meet.
It was just that Qiao Jiusheng didn’t know if they would be able to get together in this life. In her previous life, Jiaren Wu had passed away, and Wei Shuyi had lived a sad life. In this life, could her rebirth change their ending?
Qiao Jiusheng thought that Wei Shuyi would arrive soon.
Fang Yusheng personally went to pick him up from outside the courtyard. When Wei Shuyi saw Fang Yusheng, he asked, “Is Xiao Sheng still in pain?” Fang Yusheng had called him in the afternoon and said that Qiao Jiusheng’s stomach hurt a little, so he wanted Wei Shuyi to come over and take a look. Although Wei Shuyi was a surgeon and was not related to the gynecology department, he was concerned about Qiao Jiusheng. Thus, he had immediately applied for a leave.
Fang Yusheng opened his mouth, and his expression turned unnatural for a moment. Soon, he regained his composure and replied, “It doesn’t hurt anymore. She’s even chatting with her friend.”
Wei Shuyi was relieved.
“Why would her stomach hurt suddenly? I was worried that she would give birth prematurely.” Wei Shuyi followed Fang Yusheng into the house.
Fang Yusheng said as he entered the house, “Maybe it was just an ordinary stomach ache. It’s also my first time being a father. I don’t know anything, so I called you here. Sorry to trouble you!”
“No trouble at all! A pregnant woman’s health is most important.”
Fang Yusheng suddenly turned around and looked at Wei Shuyi.
Wei Shuyi frowned at him, his eyes full of questions.
Fang Yusheng suddenly said in all seriousness, “Brother Wei.”
Wei Shuyi, who was one year younger than him, could only bite the bullet and acknowledge him.
Only then did Fang Yusheng say, “I made a big fuss about today’s matter and made you come here for nothing. When you see Ah Sheng later, don’t say that I called you. Just say that you had nothing to do today and wanted to see her. Otherwise, she will throw a tantrum at me after you leave.” Fang Yusheng’s expression was a little serious. Wei Shuyi gave it a thought and felt that what Fang Yusheng said made sense, so he nodded.
“Don’t worry, I understand!”
Fang Yu was relieved.
When he turned around, he saw Qiao Jiusheng walking in through the sliding door at the back of the house.
“Brother Wei.” Qiao Jiusheng looked at Wei Shuyi in surprise. “Why are you here?”
Seeing her reaction, Wei Shuyi understood. He thought: She really doesn’t know that Fang Yusheng called me.
Not wanting to implicate Fang Yusheng and spark a quarrel between the couple, Wei Shuyi naturally said, “It was a holiday for me today. I had nothing to do at home, so I came to visit you and the babies. Why? Am I not welcome?”
Qiao Jiusheng hurriedly said, “One hundred percent welcome.”
“What a coincidence that you’re here today. I happen to be entertaining a friend. You guys are about the same age, so you should have something to talk about.” Qiao Jiusheng pointed to the corridor behind the house and said to Wei Shuyi, “Come, I’ll bring you to meet a friend.”
Wei Shuyi looked over.
He saw a woman sitting with her back to him at the coffee table under the roof.
The woman had worn a grey and pink woolen coat. Her long hair was slightly curled, and an exquisite diamond hair clip hung on her head. Since the woman’s back was facing him, Wei Shuyi could not see her face. However, from the back, he could not help but praise her in his heart. Her backview is beautiful!
Her looks are not bad. Just based on her figure and temperament, she could get eight points.
Just as Qiao Jiusheng finished speaking, Jiaren Wu looked up.
That face could be given nine points.
The waist exposed under her short gray sweater could be given ten points.
Total score: 9.5.
It was the highest score Wei Shuyi had given to a woman in all these years, and it was comparable to Qiao Jiusheng’s. This person was beautiful, but Wei Shuyi’s impression of her was the lowest in history.
Zero points.
“Mr. Wei.” Jiaren Wu stood up. She had worn high heels, and her legs were extremely long. Her waist was fair and smooth.
Wei Shuyi lowered his head and looked at her hand.
On account of Qiao Jiusheng, Wei Shuyi reluctantly reached out and shook her hand.
As they shook hands, Wei Shuyi’s eyelids twitched.
This female hooligan actually touched the back of his hand and teased him!
He frowned and looked at Jiaren Wu, who had already retracted her hand. He wasn’t sure if she had touched the back of his hand.
Seeing Jiaren Wu’s calm expression, Wei Shuyi thought that he had hallucinated. Fang Yusheng also walked over, and the four of them drank tea and chatted.
Fang Yusheng seemed to be in a particularly good mood today. He kept a smile on his face, making Qiao Jiusheng’s mind wander. They chatted for the entire afternoon. The four of them were in different fields. One was a weapons designer, one was a jade carving master, one was a medical professor, and the fourth was a police officer.
Their conversation was mostly strange.
Qiao Jiusheng could easily come up with a romantic story about jade carvings, and Fang Yusheng could also tell stories about the romantic affairs of the more famous seniors when he was still in school. As a police officer, Jiaren Wu had seen most of the sad, happy, and harmonious things. She had a wide range of materials. When she talked about it, everyone was very happy to hear it.
When it was Wei Shuyi’s turn, he was the quietest one.
Jiaren Wu saw that he seemed to have nothing to say, so she could not help but tease him, “Mr. Wei is a teacher. You’re not going to give us a lecture, are you?”
Jiaren Wu had seen countless handsome and ugly men, as handsome as Fang Yusheng, tough and mighty like the influential Senior Police Officer Duan Jue, and as stunning as the Victor/Victoria star Su Wei… Jiaren Wu had seen all sorts of wonderful people, but when she saw those people, she never had the feeling she had when she faced Wei Shuyi.
Whenever Jiaren Wu saw Wei Shuyi, all the bones in her body would itch. It was even more intense than her desire.
She couldn’t help but want to argue with Wei Shuyi and see him embarrassed.
Wei Shuyi rolled his eyes at Jiaren Wu.
Qiao Jiusheng helped him out and said, “Brother Wei can’t remember any story at the moment. It’s okay if he doesn’t say anything.”
At this moment, Wei Shuyi said, “I can tell one.”
The other three curiously looked at him.
Wei Shuyi said, “Every person who has studied anatomy knows the story about the twenty-fifth rib. According to a legend, God gave Adam twenty-five ribs when he was created. Later, God saw that Adam was too lonely, so he took Adam’s twenty-fifth rib and made a woman named Eve.
“Men are born imperfect and incomplete. Only by finding your twenty-fifth rib can you be considered perfect.
“Later on, the professionals who studied anatomy would give an empty box to the woman they deeply loved. This action meant that this woman was the person they loved the most and their missing broken rib. If the woman accepted the box, it meant that she was willing to marry the man and be his twenty-fifth rib.”
This story sounded quite romantic. Jiaren Wu took a few more glances at Wei Shuyi and asked him, “So when a man who studies medicine sends an empty box to a woman, does that mean he’s proposing?”
“You could say that.”
“Hey, that’s pretty romantic.” Jiaren Wu applauded.
Qiao Jiusheng glanced at Fang Yusheng and asked, “Am I your 25th rib?”
Fang Yusheng glanced at her and shook his head.
“Hmm?” Qiao Jiusheng’s tone was a little dangerous. “If I’m not? Then who is?”
Fang Yusheng said, “In my heart, you are my light.”
Qiao Jiusheng was stunned.
To a blind person, there was no existence more important than light.
Qiao Jiusheng’s heart was filled with satisfaction. She narrowed her eyes and smiled. Her face looked bright and charming, like the blooming of peach blossoms in spring and March. “I thought that in your heart, I was your Renminbi[1].” Fang Yusheng probably loved money the most.
Fang Yusheng’s smiling face immediately darkened. “Ah Sheng, the three words I love the most are not Ren, Min, and Bi, but Qiao, Jiu, and Sheng.” He said his confession in a fierce tone.
[1] Renminbi means Chinese Yuan.