Chapter 477
Shen Kang never expected that he would run into Zhu Qiaoting on the street in a distant southern city.
That day, after a day of classes, Shen Kang went to the department store to buy a pair of shoes. He had been wearing the same pair for years, and they couldn't even be patched. He had saved up some money from the school and his writing, and now he could afford to buy a new pair.
Shen Kang got off the bus and was walking towards the department store when someone called him: "Shen Kang——"
Chen Kang was still wondering who was calling him. When he turned around and saw Zhu Qiaoting smiling at him in the crowd, Chen Kang was completely dazed.
"It's really you. I thought I recognized the wrong person." Zhu Qiaoting walked towards Chen Kang with a smile.
"You..." Chen Kang reacted for a moment and said, "Are you also studying at a university here?"
"Yes," Zhu Qiaoting nodded with a smile, "So you were admitted here too! I went to Hsinchu City a while ago and met Ye Fuyue, but she didn't even mention that you were studying at a university here."
Shen Kang looked puzzled.
Did Zhu Qiaoting meet Ye Fuyue? Why did she meet Ye Fuyue?
Zhu Qiaoting continued, "But I can also guess why she didn't mention you."
As she spoke, Zhu Qiaoting laughed at herself and asked Chen Kang, "Which school are you in?"
Shen Kang gave the name of his school.
"You did very well on the test. I'm at a normal university, and I didn't do as well as you." Zhu Qiaoting said. She then asked, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to the department store to buy some things." Shen Kang said.
Zhu Qiaoting nodded: "I was just about to meet a friend, and I didn't expect to run into you."
Shen Kang hummed, and said nothing else.
The air was silent for a few seconds, and when Shen Kang was about to say, "Then I'll go first," Zhu Qiaoting spoke again.
"By the way, I'll return this money to you." Zhu Qiaoting took out a handful of money from her pocket and counted them one by one.
Shen Kang was confused and didn't understand what Zhu Qiaoting wanted to pay him back.
They haven't seen each other for so many years, why does Zhu Qiaoting want to return the money to him as soon as they meet?
Zhu Qiaoting counted out one hundred and eighty yuan and put the rest into her pocket.
The reason why she happened to bring so much money today was because she was planning to buy some nice clothes with her friends. This money was all saved by her temporary job and frugal living over the past few years.
"Here's a total of 180 yuan." Zhu Qiaoting handed over the money.
Shen Kang didn’t move.
Zhu Qiaoting smiled and said, "You forgot, we rented a house together before, and you paid the rent. Later, I asked the landlord to return the 18 yuan rent. I didn't give it to you, so I took it. Now that I've met you, I will pay you back with interest. Once this debt is paid off, I won't owe you anything."
Shen Kang was stunned. He had already forgotten about the 18 yuan rent.
Zhu Qiaoting guessed that he must have forgotten.
"I was short of money back then, and that 18 yuan helped me improve my diet a lot. Now that I'm not short of money anymore, I'll pay you back with the interest." She stuffed the money into Shen Kang's hand and said, "I won't tell you anymore. My friend is still waiting for me."
She didn't even say goodbye to Shen Kang, just turned around and trotted away.
Shen Kang clenched the 180 yuan in his hand, was stunned for a moment, and turned away.
He put the money in his pocket.
Since Zhu Qiaoting wanted to return it, he accepted it and made things clear for both of them.
Just as they were about to enter the department store, a man suddenly pushed Shen Kang aside and ran away quickly.
Shen Kang was still wondering how that man walked. But in a flash, he came to his senses and went to search his pocket.
Sure enough, the one hundred and eighty yuan he had in his pocket was gone!
Shen Kang was about to run after the man, but a figure quickly passed him and ran towards the thief, shouting as he ran: "Catch the thief - catch the thief -"
Shen Kang also chased after her, but as a man, his speed was far slower than that of the woman.
By the time he caught up with the thief, the female comrade had already pounced on the thief to the ground and twisted his hands behind his back in a few seconds.
Shen Kang was stunned by the female comrade's skillful skills.
While he was still in a daze, the female comrade had already taken back the 180 yuan that the thief had taken away and said to Shen Kang, "Is this your money?"
"Yes." Shen Kang nodded.
"Take it." The female comrade stretched out her hand.
Shen Kang took the 180 yuan and thanked the female comrade: "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Catching thieves is my job."
When Chen Kang was confused about what the female comrade said, she continued, "I need you to go to the Public Security Bureau with me and make a statement."
"Transcript?" Shen Kang became more and more confused.
Isn't this like helping others when you see injustice?
"Yes," the woman confirmed, "I'm from the police department. My name is Li Hanwei."
Shen Kang suddenly realized: "So it's a public security comrade, okay, no problem."
Li Hanwei took the thief and Shen Kang to the nearest police station.
Shen Kang asked, "Comrade Public Security, are you enforcing the law in plain clothes?"
"No," Li Hanwei said, "I was taking a day off today and happened to see him stealing your money."
Shen Kang understood and said with a smile: "Then I am lucky, otherwise I would never get the money back."
They went to the nearest public security bureau. Li Hanwei explained the situation to the police officer on duty and was about to leave.
Shen Kangde stayed to take notes. When he saw Li Hanwei about to leave, he called out, "Comrade Li."
Li Hanwei turned her head and looked at him.
Shen Kang asked: "Which district's public security bureau are you in? I want to present you with a banner."
When Li Hanwei heard there was a banner, her eyes lit up.
She had just joined the Public Security Bureau and needed this kind of opportunity to make a contribution. If she could get a silk banner, it would be the best thing for her.
However, she soon felt that she was being too obvious and it was not a good idea.
She suppressed the joy on her face and pretended to be serious before reporting the police station where she worked.
Shen Kang noticed all of her small movements.
A faint smile appeared in Shen Kang's eyes, but he immediately put away the smile because he was afraid that she would find it and feel uncomfortable.
He nodded and said, "I'll remember that. I'll send the banner to your office in a few days."
A few days later, Chen Kang fulfilled his promise and personally delivered the banner to the Public Security Bureau where Li Hanwei worked.
When Li Hanwei's leader heard that Chen Kang was going to give the banner to Li Hanwei, he called Li Hanwei over and asked her to accept the honor in person.
Seeing the uncontrollable smile in Li Hanwei's eyes, Shen Kang also smiled.
After presenting the banner, Chen Kang did not leave immediately, but waited for Li Hanwei outside the Public Security Bureau.
It was not until the lunch break at noon that Li Hanwei and several colleagues came out of the Public Security Bureau.
“Comrade Li Hanwei——” Shen Kang called her.
Li Hanwei stopped and when she saw it was him, there was surprise in her eyes.
"Comrade Shen, do you have anything else to say?" Li Hanwei asked him.
"I have something I want to tell you." Shen Kang said.
Li Hanwei asked the other colleagues to go eat first. She turned around and asked Chen Kang, "What do you want?"
Shen Kang calmed his racing heart and said, "I want to treat you to a meal to thank you for helping me recover so much money."
"Didn't you give me a banner?" Li Hanwei asked puzzledly.
"I feel that a banner is not enough to express my gratitude. I would like to treat you to a meal again." Shen Kang said.
"For me, a silk banner is enough." Li Hanwei said.
Shen Kang stared at her silently and asked, "Is it inconvenient for you to have dinner with me?"
"That's not the case," Li Hanwei said. "I just don't think it's necessary. Catching thieves is my job. If you treat me to a meal just because I did my job, it seems a bit unreasonable."
Chen Kang pursed his lips, knowing that Li Hanwei had not yet understood the deeper meaning of his invitation to dinner.
He mustered up the courage to say, "If I say I just want to treat you to a meal, it has nothing to do with whether you help me catch the thief or not."
Li Hanwei was stunned. She suddenly understood something and a blush appeared on her face.
She thought: Impossible, is that what she meant? She doesn't seem to be that charming!
“Uh…” Li Hanwei lowered her eyes. “If you want, then eat it.”
Shen Kang smiled: "Okay."
He then asked, "Is there anything you particularly want to eat?"
Li Hanwei still kept her eyes down, hardly daring to look at Chen Kang. She shook her head.
Shen Kang said: "Then I will make the decision myself. I heard that there is a new small restaurant nearby. The food is pretty good. Do you want to try it?"
"Okay." Li Hanwei nodded.
So Shen Kang walked to the restaurant with her.
On the way, Chen Kang told everyone about his situation, including what university he attended, what major he studied, where he lived, and what his family situation was like.
Li Hanwei said in surprise: "You're still in college!"
Shen Kang nodded: "Yeah, sophomore year."
"That's amazing," Li Hanwei praised.
She reacted again: "Your school is not close to here, how do you know which restaurants here are good?"
Shen Kang smiled and said, "Before coming here, I specifically checked and asked local classmates. I can't just want to have dinner with you without doing any preparation."
Li Hanwei noticed that Chen Kang changed "I want to invite you to dinner" to "I want to have dinner with you", and she felt a little shy again.
The small restaurant Shen Kang took her to was doing good business, and they had to wait for a while before a table became available.
Chen Kang asked her to order dishes, but she was embarrassed to order, so Chen Kang ordered one meat, one fish and one vegetable.
As they ate and chatted, they got to know each other better. Chen Kang learned that Li Hanwei was a local, had an older brother, and had been assigned to her current bureau after graduating from the police academy, having only been working there for less than six months.
After finishing the meal, Shen Kang sent Li Hanwei back to the Public Security Bureau.
Although he really wanted to stay with Li Hanwei for a while longer, he knew that Li Hanwei still had to go to work. For Li Hanwei, work was the top priority now.
Arriving at the Public Security Bureau, Li Hanwei said, "Thank you for treating me to dinner. I'll go in first."
“Yeah,” Shen Kang nodded. When Li Hanwei was about to turn around, he suddenly asked, “Comrade Li, can we still meet for dinner in the future?”
Li Hanwei's cheeks flushed a little. She bit her lip and nodded, "Okay, I'll treat you to dinner next time."
Shen Kang smiled as brightly as the wind: "Okay."
He watched Li Hanwei at the door of the Public Security Bureau until she entered the bureau before he turned and left.
…
Li Hanwei thought of the scene when she and Shen Kang first met and smiled secretly.
Shen Kang, who was standing next to her, still noticed that she was laughing. Shen Kang leaned over and whispered in her ear, "What are you laughing at?"
Li Hanwei leaned close to Chen Kang's ear and said, "I'm thinking about the first time we met, when you went to our Public Security Bureau to give me a banner and treated me to a meal."
Shen Kang also remembered these things clearly. He laughed and said, "I was afraid that you would not agree to have dinner with me."
Li Hanwei said, "If you insist on saying you're treating me to dinner to thank me, I definitely won't agree. But..."
Li Hanwei didn't finish her words, but Shen Kang already understood what she meant.
Li Hanwei continued, "I couldn't understand why you wanted to have dinner with me. I don't seem to be that attractive."
"No, you're very charming." Chen Kang smiled and said solemnly, "This is the first time I've seen a girl with such agile skills and a straightforward personality. I thought to myself at the time, this girl is so good, I want to date her."
"Bride and groom, stop whispering. It's time to go into the venue for the ceremony." The staff member reminded with a smile.
Li Hanwei and Shen Kang looked at each other with a smile and straightened up.
Today was their wedding day. Li Hanwei wore a cheongsam, and Chen Kang wore a suit. They walked into the banquet hall arm in arm.
They saw relatives including Chen Guifeng, Chen Yao, and Ye Fuyue sitting below. Everyone clapped their hands vigorously and looked at them with blessings on their faces.
Shen Kang and Li Hanwei had already discussed with both families that they would hold their wedding first in Shen Kang's hometown and then hold a secondary wedding in Li Hanwei's hometown.
After marriage, Shen Kang and Li Hanwei will live in the south, in a house allocated by Shen Kang's unit.
Regarding the issue of Chen Guifeng's retirement, if Shen Kang settled in the south, it would be far away from Zhu City. Shen Yao and Ye Fuyue both said that they would be responsible for Chen Guifeng's retirement.
Although Chen Kang could not be with Chen Guifeng all the time, he planned to give Chen Guifeng some pension money every month, and Li Hanwei had no objection to this.
At this moment, Shen Kang was holding Li Hanwei's hand, enjoying everyone's blessings, and his heart was particularly peaceful and happy.
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