Chen Chen made a gesture of silence, drawing Ah Zi to squat down in the corner together and then peeping from behind.
Behind the wall, a man was pressing himself against a woman whose colorful dress spread in the shape of a semicircle on the ground. Besides, the round butt and two thighs were particularly conspicuous, only second to the dress.
Chen Chen turned and ran away, with her face being red and heart beating fast. Ah Zi was startled by her, wondering what she had seen and then poking her head out, only to see the man getting up from the woman with his middle leg shaking.
“Aargh!” She screamed.
“Ah Zi? Why are you here?” A familiar voice sounded. It’s the landlady who asked in a flurry while dressing herself.
Chen Chen returned to try to take Ah Zi away. “We… We’re sorry. We didn’t mean it.”
“Do you know them?” The man buckled his belt and held a cigarette in his mouth.
The landlady was a little embarrassed, glaring at him and saying, “They lived in my inn yesterday.”
“Wow, what pretty girls! Do you come here for fun by yourselves? This place is not safe, so how about staying with us?”
The man was fairly handsome, but looked rather like a bandit who was difficult to deal with.
“No, no.” Ah Zi calmed down and waved her hands quickly. “We’re leaving without disturbing you.”
However, the man stepped forward first in front of them. “Are you afraid of me? Hahaha, I’m not a bad guy. You can ask the landlady if I am rather caring!”
“Don’t scare the girls.” The landlady put her hand on his arm. “Let them go. They come here just for fun.”
“Are you jealous?” The man fondled her chest. “I’m just kidding! Have a nice trip.” He took away the landlady who looked back and smiled at them.
When they were already far away, Chen Chen eased up. “So terrifying!”
“Who would have thought that there was someone doing such a thing in the daytime?” Ah Zi rubbed her eyes. “Damn it, such a scene will cause harm to my eyes.”
“Let’s go back to the street!” Chen Chen pulled her away.
The alley restored peace. Then two people suddenly appeared from behind.
One looked like a bear, while the other had a pair of cold eyes.
“Make an investigation…”
Chen Chen and Ah Zi ran out to the street and were not in the mood for watching the stones. They absently walked into a small restaurant. As soon as they sat down, they saw two people coming in.
“It’s you again!” Ah Zi jumped up. “Are you following us?”
A bear-like man was in a good temper and said, “Well, little girl. This is the only restaurant in the street. Look, it’s noon now, and we’re here for lunch.”
The waiter walked up to them. “Excuse me, there will be many people later. Since you know each other, how about sharing the table?”
Chen Chen was about to explain that they didn’t know each other, when the two men sat down…
“Well, it’ our treat. Help yourself to anything you want.” The bear-like man handed them the menu.
“OK. Anyway, I don’t think that you can kidnap us in the daytime, can you?” Chen Chen took the menu and ordered five or six dishes all at once. When she handed the menu back, she saw the man who had been silent staring at her unfriendly.
His stare made Chen Chen’s hair stand on end, so that Chen Chen stood up abruptly.
“What’s wrong?” Ah Zi quickly held her, and then got angry when she saw the man’s look. “Hey, what’s your problem? You said it was your treat. But why are you so mean now?”
When the bear-like man found the atmosphere tense, he first patted his companion on the shoulder, and then apologized to Chen Chen and Ah Zi. “You misunderstand him! This is how he looks at a person when he is hungry, as if he can’t wait to eat the person. Don’t mind him!”
“So abnormal…” Ah Zi whispered, and pulled Chen Chen to sit down.
Then, Chen Chen didn’t dare to look at that the man, lowering her head and drinking water. Soon, the dishes were served, among which the sugared taro was very delicious. She was even embarrassed that she kept picking the taros off the plate.
Then the man who had never spoken pushed the plate toward her.
“Well, I won’t eat it anymore. It’s yours. It’s yours.”
The man glanced at her, being still silent. The bear-like man next to him chuckled. “Eat more if you like sweet food!”
Ah Zi glared at her and whispered, “Will you die if you eat less?”
“You have finished the fish in front of you.” Chen Chen stared back at her. “You eat up two fishes by yourself.”
The bear-like man immediately said, “We can order more if that’s not enough. Help yourself.”
Chen Chen and Ah Zi finished the dishes quickly. “We are full. Thank you for your hospitality, goodbye!”
“How fast they run away!” One of the two men said, “Just leave a simple thank-you.”
The other man kept a straight face. “They feel so free and easy to eat the food provided by others. They’re not alert at all.”
“Oh, that’s why you felt uneasy and followed them here.”
Being full, Chen Chen and Ah Zi began to feel that if they were not going to bet on stones, they would be considered to travel here for nothing. So they found the busiest store where both of them spent one thousand yuan on a stone, without anything in the stones though.
“It’s very difficult to find something valuable inside!” A colorful dress flashed, and the landlady looked at them with a smile. “If there is emerald in any stones you have bought, you will make a fortune!”
On seeing the landlady, Ah Zi thought of what she had seen so that her expressions suddenly became unnatural.
“Landlady… why are you here?” Chen Chen pretended to smile.
“Didn’t you see me?” The landlady smiled charmingly. “I’m here to date a man!”
Chen Chen set her mood. It’s they who rushed there and accidentally saw them. They just had outdoor sex, without disturbing anyone.
“I have something to ask for your help,” said the landlady, “Let’s go to the tea house nearby?”
It was more of a stall than a tea house. They found some clean seats, and the landlady looked at them, asking, “Are you leaving tomorrow? Are you going to the provincial capital?”
“Yeah.” Chen Chen nodded. “Just say it!”
“Alas, I provide the hand-knitted fabric for a company over there. Usually, I would take the fabric to the town by myself, and then deliver it by express.” The landlady said in distress, “But today, they made a phone call to tell me that the express spot had been removed. I don’t know when a new express company will be established.”
Ah Zi understood. “You want us to help you take the fabric to the provincial capital, don’t you?”
“Yeah, yeah!” The landlady nodded. “I wonder if you would like to help me.”
Chen Chen glanced at Ah Zi and agreed. “No problem. You can give us the address. We will take it there for you.”
“It’s great. You will live here today, right? I’ll go back to fetch the fabric now!” Finishing her words, the landlady was about to leave, when Chen Chen quickly gave her the address of the inn. After the landlady left, Ah Zi pointed to the two men across the street. “Look, it’s them again!”
Chen Chen stared at them for a moment, and the stress came out again.
“Let’s go back!”
Ah Zi picked up her backpack and said, “There are some specialty product stores near the inn. We can buy some.”
In the evening, the landlady took them the fabric that was put in a trolley case, and they could wheel it handily.
“It’s heavy. Sorry to bother you!” The landlady insisted that they should take her money, but Chen Chen refused her resolutely. The landlady finally left after expressing her gratitude for a long time.
Ah Zi said when lying on the bed, “It’s rare that she trusts us so much, and she’s not afraid that we will sneak away with her things.”
“You’re right. So, everyone says that people in the countryside are simple!” Chen Chen slightly closed her eyes, turning over and falling asleep.
Next, they had a smooth trip to the manual workshop according to the address, signed the contract, and determined the price. Then they returned to the provincial capital, about to return to find a store. However, when going through airport security, several police dogs barked at their luggage.
“Excuse me, we need to check your cases. Please come with me.” Several policemen took them to a room.
Chen Chen and Ah Zi didn’t know what was going on, just opening their luggage for inspection.
Ah Zi worriedly asked, “Did we buy any specialty products that couldn’t be taken onto the plane?”
“I don’t know.” Chen Chen was also scared. She would be scared on seeing the men in army uniform…
Finally, the police took out the fabric, felt about it, then cut the thread with the knife, and found some white powder inside an embroidery flower.
“Chen Chen!” Ah Zi was startled. “What’s… what’s that?”
“I tell you it’s white sugar. Do you believe it?”
A policeman sneered at her. “White sugar? How about you taste it?”
There were at least dozens of embroidery flowers into the fabric, and there would be some powder under the flowers which were taken apart.
“Fifty grams totally,” said the police after the inspection. “Take them inside and search their body.”
Chen Chen and Ah Zi both panicked.
“Officer, this is not ours. We carry it for others’ sake.”
“Carry it for others’ sake? Humph, are you stupid or bold?” The police officer gave them a mean look.
Ah Zi shook her head. “No, she asked us to help take the fabric, and we didn’t know there were drugs in it!”
“Really, we’re here for traveling. That is what the innkeeper asked us to bring to a company over here. We didn’t know that she had hidden drugs in it.” Chen Chen got anxious, “If you don’t believe me, you can ask someone to make an investigation. Her inn is in the village.”
The police officer said seriously. “We’ll first check whether you are still carrying drugs, and then take down your confession. Before we find the truth, you will be temporarily detained.”
“Why should we be detained?” Ah Zi protested. “We are not drug traffickers!”
Two policewomen came up to them with electric batons in their hands. “You’d better not struggle, or we will resort to force.”
Chen Chen had already cried with fear. “We are really not drug traffickers! We have been used.”
The policewomen were about to take them away, when a team of people came in.
“Sir!” Several police officers gave a salute to the director.
A man in his fifties nodded. “It’s just a misunderstanding. Let them go!”
“But…”
The director waved his hand. “It’s okay. They are not drug traffickers; they have been used.”
Being trembling, Chen Chen and Ah Zi were taken out. The two police officers even politely led them onto the plane.
Not until the plane took off did Chen Chen say with a dazed expression. “Are… are we released?”
“I… I think so…” Ah Zi patted her own face. “Damn it, I’m scared almost to death. We’re nearly thought of as drug traffickers.”
Chen Chen hugged her. “Fortunately! They believe in us.”
“Don’t you find it strange?” Ah Zi took a swig of iced Coke. “Why did they suddenly let us go?”