Chapter 93

Huanxi's single room was the most secluded place in the courtyard. The six-square-meter small room contained a bed and a desk, filled with study materials and test papers, but everything was neatly arranged, clean, and cozy. It looked more like a high school girl's bedroom than a bedroom in a hair salon.

"Brother, did you drink? I'll wring out a towel for you." Huanxi smelled the alcohol on Liu Handong's body and was about to go get water, but he grabbed her arm.

"Sit with me for a while." Liu Handong had drunk a lot today—half a kilogram of white liquor and five bottles of beer. Now, his head was dizzy, but his desires were even stronger. If Huanxi acted like she did that day, Liu Handong couldn't guarantee he would hold back.

Huanxi was a bit scared and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's, "Brother, it hurts."

The neighboring rooms on both sides were filled with familiar slapping sounds and exaggerated moans, making Liu Handong's breathing heavier and his eyes more confused.

"Brother, I have the college entrance exam next month..." Huanxi said softly.

Like a clear stream flowing, Liu Handong suddenly became clear-headed. Huanxi's life was already pitiful, and her situation was already tragic. If he were to take advantage of her, he would be no better than a beast. No, he must not be a beast.

"Oh, the college entrance exam is coming. How are your preparations going?" Liu Handong picked up a mock test paper from the desk. Huanxi was a science student, and this was a physics test. The last few questions were quite tricky, but Huanxi had solved them, and her methods were quite clever. Physics was usually a weak point for girls, but Huanxi's logical thinking was strong.

"Brother, test me." Huanxi handed the Oxford Dictionary to Liu Handong, looking at him with pride.

Liu Handong was half-believing, half-doubting. This girl was being too confident. Bringing out an English dictionary to show off, he knew from his own experience that memorizing a dictionary was impossible, especially the Oxford Dictionary.

The name Ling Zijie was written on the first page of the dictionary. Liu Handong couldn't help but smile. He asked a few common words, and Huanxi answered fluently. Then he asked some less common ones, and Huanxi could still recite and spell them.

"I don't believe it." Liu Handong flipped through the dictionary and found an extremely obscure word. This time, it stumped Huanxi, but for a high school student, her vocabulary was already beyond what was needed, at least at the level of an advanced English proficiency test.

Huanxi was a smart girl. When she first came to Jinjiang, she only spoke Mandarin, but now she could haggle with vegetable vendors in the local dialect. In the countryside, her English pronunciation was not standard because she followed her teacher, but now, with self-study on the computer, she listened to standard British London accents, making her pronunciation much purer.

On the desk was a laptop, which Liu Handong had left before his training. In the poor countryside, there were few computers in the middle school, and Huanxi almost didn't know how to operate one. Her knowledge of computers was limited to "typing" and "Wubi input method." He wondered how much she had learned in the past few months.

"Huanxi, how is your computer usage?" Liu Handong lifted the pillow covering the laptop.

"I can use it." Huanxi opened the laptop and turned it on. Liu Handong was surprised; the original Windows 7 system had been replaced with Windows 8.

"Just messing around. If it breaks, I'll buy a disk to reinstall it. They said it's the latest system." Huanxi said cautiously, thinking she had caused trouble.

"Good, you can even reinstall it. What else can you do? Show me."

"I can type, use Office, go online, download software, and I even applied for a QQ number and an email."

"Nice, you're making progress."

"They used to go to the internet cafe, but now they use my computer to video chat with their families."

After the raid last year, Mei Jie's hair salon had a stroke of luck. The police and the village committee ignored it, and business improved. Now, there were four or five girls working there, and the salon was always busy. Many of the girls had children and would video chat with their families to ease their homesickness, but they didn't know how to use computers and had to go to the internet cafe. Now, they could do it at the salon.

The two talked about computers and studies, ignoring the sounds from the neighboring rooms. Liu Handong asked Huanxi what university she planned to apply to.

"First choice is Jiangdong University." Huanxi said excitedly, "Mei Jie can often come to see me."

"With your grades, I think you could get into Peking or Tsinghua University." Liu Handong said.

Huanxi shook her head, "I can't be sure. I didn't do well last year. This year, I'll play it safe and go to Jiangdong University."

Liu Handong smiled bitterly. Playing it safe and going to Jiangdong University, which was a 985 and 211 university, ranked in the top twenty in China, was still a significant achievement.

"Next month, in June, you'll have the college entrance exam. You need to go back to your hometown to take it, right? Have you arranged your school registration?"

Liu Handong asked casually, but Huanxi exclaimed, "Oh no, I forgot!"

This girl, though smart, was forgetful about important things. She was almost taking the exam without even registering.

"Go and arrange it quickly. Have Mei Jie help you. Don't miss the exam." Liu Handong said seriously, "I'll talk to her. This can't be delayed."

He went out to find Mei Jie.

Mei Jie was chatting with Zhu Xiaqiang in the room. Although Zhu Xiaqiang was desperate, his standards were high. The material he usually used for self-pleasure was top-tier Japanese porn, and even Teacher Aki didn't interest him, let alone the middle-aged Mei Jie.

But Mei Jie wanted to taste the young Zhu Xiaqiang, chasing him around the room and touching him, making Zhu Xiaqiang's fists hard. Finally, he said, "I don't have money."

"That's fine. I don't want money. I'll even give you a red envelope." Mei Jie smiled, lighting a cigarette and looking at Zhu Xiaqiang like a dish on a plate.

Zhu Xiaqiang backed away, asking, "The girl who went in with Dongge, is she from here?"

Mei Jie laughed, "What? You like her? Not bad taste for a student. She's only eighteen, very young, but you can't think about it. She only serves Dongge."

Zhu Xiaqiang was heartbroken. Such a pure and innocent girl was a prostitute, and she didn't serve others. This was truly frustrating.

"But you can chat and make friends. Come often." Mei Jie gave him a flirtatious look.

"What's her name?"

"Huanxi, her last name is Lan. Doesn't it sound nice?"

"Lan Huanxi." Zhu Xiaqiang silently repeated the name, memorizing it. He couldn't afford even a fifty-yuan prostitute on the street, let alone enter such a "high-end" hair salon. He could only write Lan Huanxi's name in his book and fantasize.

"Knock, knock." Someone knocked on the door. It was Liu Handong. Mei Jie opened the door, flicking the ash, "What's up? Finished so quickly? Kidney deficiency, Dongzi?"

"Don't joke. I need to ask you, where is Huanxi's school registration? Where will she take the exam?"

"Oh no, I completely forgot!" Mei Jie slapped her thigh, "Pack your bags quickly. I'll take Huanxi home to arrange her school registration. This can't be delayed. We'll leave this afternoon."

Zhu Xiaqiang looked at them in confusion. What school registration? What exam? She's a prostitute, why does she need to take an exam?

Without delay, Mei Jie took Huanxi back to her hometown to arrange the exam. In the countryside, things were more relaxed. As long as the gifts were right, anything could be arranged.

They hastily packed a few clothes, and Mei Jie took Huanxi out of the salon. Liu Handong followed, picked up his car keys, and pressed the button. The car beeped and opened.

"Brother, you drank. You can't drive." Huanxi said.

"It's fine. I'll take you to the long-distance bus station." Liu Handong said nonchalantly.

"Da Dong, you're a police officer now. Be careful about your image. We'll take a taxi." Mei Jie also advised. The three of them tussled on the roadside.

At this time, there were few taxis passing by, and those that did were already occupied. Just as Mei Jie was about to give in, a taxi with a passenger stopped. The driver said, "Xiao Liu, where are you going?"

It was the old driver, Zhang Aimin, who had met Liu Handong before.

"Take my sister to the long-distance bus station." Liu Handong said.

"Get in." Zhang Aimin opened the door. The passenger in the front seat protested a bit but fell silent when he saw Huanxi.

"Be careful on the road." Liu Handong patted the car roof and watched the taxi drive away, feeling a bit melancholic.

Suddenly, his phone rang. It was a strange number. He answered, and it was Chief Geng.

"Liu Handong, come to the narcotics squad immediately."

"Now?" Liu Handong asked, but the other end had already hung up, showing Chief Geng's style.

He had drunk a lot in the afternoon, reaching the level of drunk driving. Liu Handong didn't dare to drive the car and rode a motorcycle to the narcotics squad. The courtyard was filled with cars, and people were coming and going, all unfamiliar faces. Liu Handong pushed open a door, and the police inside were busy.

"Is Chief Geng here?" Liu Handong asked.

"First room on the right upstairs." Someone said without looking up.

Liu Handong went upstairs. Chief Geng was in a meeting with a few plainclothes narcotics officers. Seeing Liu Handong, he nodded slightly and said, "Find a place to sit."

On the projection screen was a residential area. Chief Geng pointed to one of the buildings, "The drug dealers are hiding upstairs. The situation is complex. We will enter the house disguised as meter readers to control all the people. Be careful; the dealers may have weapons."

Liu Handong wanted to laugh but didn't dare. Checking meters, it was clearly fake, but if Chief Geng wanted to pretend, there must be a reason.

Chief Geng assigned the personnel, and Liu Handong was not included.

"Chief Geng, what do I do?" Liu Handong raised his hand and asked.

"You're responsible for logistics support. I checked your file; you drive well. You'll be the driver." Chief Geng said.

Liu Handong was unhappy. With his abilities, he should be the first to enter, not just a logistics support.

Chief Geng looked at his watch, "Let's go!"

The team went downstairs and got into two civilian-licensed cars. Liu Handong sat in one of the vans. The plainclothes officers were chatting and laughing, ignoring him. They were checking their bulletproof vests and guns, making Liu Handong feel even more disappointed. He asked a familiar young officer, "Can I use a gun?"

The officer was Xiao Fang, who had lent him a 56C before. He looked at Liu Handong, "There's no gun for you in the roster."

Liu Handong said, "Many of you have two guns. Can't you give me one?"

Xiao Fang laughed, and everyone else laughed too.

"Boss, boss, the new guy wants a gun. Should we give him one?" Xiao Fang called on the radio to the front car.

"Give him a ball." Chief Geng replied immediately.

Everyone laughed even harder.

Xiao Fang took out a Taser and handed it to him, "Use this."

The team went downstairs and got into the cars. Liu Handong sat in one of the vans. The plainclothes officers were chatting and laughing, ignoring him. They were checking their bulletproof vests and guns, making Liu Handong feel even more disappointed. He asked a familiar young officer, "Can I use a gun?"

The officer was Xiao Fang, who had lent him a 56C before. He looked at Liu Handong, "There's no gun for you in the roster."

Liu Handong said, "Many of you have two guns. Can't you give me one?"

Xiao Fang laughed, and everyone else laughed too.

"Boss, boss, the new guy wants a gun. Should we give him one?" Xiao Fang called on the radio to the front car.

"Give him a ball." Chief Geng replied immediately.

Everyone laughed even harder.

Xiao Fang took out a Taser and handed it to him, "Use this."