Chapter 107 After waking up, He Zhao tied her hair up and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. While she was cooking…
After waking up, He Zhao tied her hair up and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. While she was cooking, she heard Qiao Yanyu talking on the phone. Qiao Yanyu was in the living room; the glass sliding door to the kitchen wasn't soundproof, but the sound of cooking masked some of the noise.
At first, He Zhao didn't take it to heart. As a particularly capable investigator, it was normal for Qiao Yanyu to receive many phone calls. However, later on, even though He Zhao was cooking and making a lot of noise, it couldn't drown out Qiao Yanyu's shout: "Are you kidding me?!"
Qiao Yanyu rarely expressed her voice and emotions so openly. Even from a distance, He Zhao could hear Qiao Yanyu's dissatisfaction and anger. She turned off the stove, wiped her hands on her apron, and walked out of the kitchen without even turning off the range hood.
She wanted to see what was wrong with Qiao Yanyu, but when she saw He Zhao come out, Qiao Yanyu glanced at her and clearly began to suppress her anger, even lowering her voice: "Yes, Li Xia is a responsible person, but she is not capable enough. What were you thinking when you let Li Xia replace you?"
With just a few words, He Zhao had a pretty good idea of why Qiao Yanyu was so angry.
Wang Yu was called away by the bureau chief during the day; she must have been assigned another task. This task might not be easy to resolve, so Wang Yu won't be able to come and keep He Zhao company tonight. Instead, Li Xia will come instead. This matter definitely needs to be discussed with He Zhao or Qiao Yanyu first.
He Zhao then remembered that her phone was charging on the living room shelf. She went over to check and, sure enough, there were several missed calls from Wang Yu. She had been cooking inside and missed the calls. Afterwards, Wang Yu called Qiao Yanyu, and that's how this whole situation happened.
During the day, Qiao Yanyu praised Wang Yu highly, but when she heard that Li Xia was going to visit He Zhao in Wang Yu's place that evening, she was instantly unhappy.
Qiao Yanyu wasn't being convoluted. She made it very clear during the day that Li Xia was serious and responsible in her work, and her interpersonal skills were far superior to Wang Yu's. However, in terms of ghost-catching abilities, Li Xia was definitely no match for Wang Yu.
Qiao Yanyu was somewhat unhappy that Wang Yu was not strong enough, and now that Li Xia, who was far inferior to her, was in charge, she was even more unhappy.
He Zhao leaned closer. Wang Yu's voice was loud on the other end of the phone, and even He Zhao could hear it: "But there's no other way now. We can't just pull out those Level 1 investigators who are on vacation. Even if someone is willing to take on this temporary mission, are you comfortable with that?"
"..." Qiao Yanyu pursed her lips and remained silent. Her attitude was clear: she was uneasy.
Before He Zhao could say a word, Qiao Yanyu glanced at her several times, then said to Wang Yu on the other end, "I'll think about it some more, I'm hanging up." She hung up very decisively, without waiting for Wang Yu to say a word, and put down her phone.
She turned to look at He Zhao and, without even the slightest hesitation, said directly, "He Zhao, I'll go with you tonight."
"ah?"
He Zhao was truly stunned. Of course, she wanted Qiao Yanyu to stay with her, but with Qiao Yanyu in this condition, her leg still in a cast, He Zhao couldn't possibly agree, no matter how much she wanted to.
Is she even human to let an injured person watch over her and protect her?
"No, no, no! You're in this state, and you're still coming to see me? How can I do that? Sister Qiao, you should rest well. Once you're healed, I'll definitely make you stay with me!" He Zhao quickly waved her hand in refusal. She even added the last part, afraid that Qiao Yanyu might misunderstand that she disliked her.
The problem is, Qiao Yanyu wouldn't listen. She shook her head and said, "No, I don't trust anyone else to look after you. If Wang Yu has something to do, I can temporarily fill in for a day. And even if I can't move my legs, I can still protect you. You have to trust me."
He Zhao opened her mouth, but Qiao Yanyu's gaze was too serious, and she couldn't bring herself to refuse. Mainly, He Zhao naturally trusted Qiao Yanyu. Her incredible ability to conjure soldiers from coins truly didn't require Qiao Yanyu to lift a finger.
To put it simply, Qiao Yanyu is a patient.
The two remained deadlocked for a long time. He Zhao even got so angry that he went back to the kitchen first, sullenly finished cooking all the dishes, and didn't say a word to Qiao Yanyu when it was time for dinner that evening.
Qiao Yanyu was even more stubborn than He Zhao had imagined. While He Zhao was washing rice and cooking, Qiao Yanyu had already changed her outfit. She changed out of her loose pajamas and even removed her cast. Dressed in all black, she transformed back into her original cool girl self.
Seeing Qiao Yanyu like this, He Zhao almost laughed out of anger.
Qiao Yanyu is a responsible and capable woman who is extremely independent and has survived on her own for many years. Therefore, He Zhao saw another side of Qiao Yanyu today: once she made up her mind, she would never turn back, and she was stubborn to the point of being unyielding.
He Zhao never imagined that one day she would be the one to back down first. She, a pampered young lady who had never known the meaning of compromise, would one day be the one to yield in such a matter.
Indeed, love is the most irrational thing.
He Zhao spoke first, then sighed and pouted before saying, "Okay, but Sister Qiao, you have to take a taxi first, you can't come with me. You can't ride a motorcycle like this, my little electric scooter is too bumpy, taking a taxi is better. Ask the driver to help you out and wait for me over there."
Qiao Yanyu hesitated for a moment; she still wanted to go with He Zhao. He Zhao had changed his closing time to 3 PM, and this time was rather awkward. Before, Wang Yu had driven her back, which had made her feel somewhat at ease. Now that it was her turn, He Zhao was telling her to take a car there, meaning he also intended for her to take a car back.
But He Zhao had already conceded, and even someone as clueless as Qiao Yanyu knew that if she didn't agree, she would be ungrateful. So Qiao Yanyu could only nod and agree: "Okay."
He Zhao had something else to say, so he just said it all in one breath: "And Sister Qiao, you can't dress like this. You were healthy before, so it was fine to wear thin clothes, but now the weather is so cold. Don't let your legs develop arthritis from dressing like this. Wear more clothes!"
He Zhao took out a lot of things from his wardrobe. He took a small blanket and spread it over Qiao Yanyu's legs, wrapping them completely inside. He then put a thick woolen hat on her, pressing down her short hair, and wrapped a scarf around her, covering the lower half of her face. Even so, he was still not at ease, so he put gloves and a mask on Qiao Yanyu.
Qiao Yanyu was quite well-behaved at this time, not saying a word, letting He Zhao dress her up like a Christmas tree full of things.
Only after doing all this was He Zhao somewhat satisfied.
Even though she had conceded, He Zhao was still somewhat uncomfortable. The smile that had just appeared on her face because Qiao Yanyu had obediently let her dress her up disappeared the next moment, replaced by a defiant snort: "I don't know how you developed such a stubborn personality, you're just like a stubborn mule! Your legs are injured, and you still won't behave, it's too much!"
He Zhao kept babbling about Qiao Yanyu, but Qiao Yanyu was in a good mood. She was wrapped up tightly and felt a little stuffy, so she secretly used her fingers to pull down a bit of her mask, revealing her smiling face.
Seeing Qiao Yanyu smiling happily, He Zhao became even more unhappy. She pouted and hummed several more times.
Qiao Yanyu really thought that her whining sounded like a little pig, not the chubby kind, but a cute little spotted pig. However, even if Qiao Yanyu wasn't good at speaking, she knew that if she said anything now, He Zhao would definitely be even angrier.
So she only glanced at He Zhao for a while, but remembered her angry expression.
It was getting late before He Zhao was supposed to set up her stall, so she first carried the rice cooker downstairs and placed it on the food cart, then turned back and pushed Qiao Yanyu downstairs. She waited at the entrance of the residential complex for the ride-hailing driver, noting down the license plate number, adding herself as Qiao Yanyu's emergency contact, and finally sharing the trip before instructing the driver to drive slowly.
Before Qiao Yanyu was injured, she was more like a mother hen, but now that she is injured, their roles have immediately reversed.
The driver nodded and said he understood, then drove away. He Zhao also got on his electric scooter and followed closely behind.
Actually… the driver felt something was off about this trip. Not only were they going to a park late at night, but the problem was that the passenger he picked up was in a wheelchair. Even the most uncurious person couldn't help but ask, "Miss, what are you doing at the park entrance so late at night? It's so cold, and you're not well. Wouldn't it be more comfortable at home?"
When the driver first saw the two of them, he almost thought they were roommates having a fight, and that the woman was going to dump her friend in the middle of nowhere. But seeing how attentive and careful the other woman was, it didn't seem like what he had imagined.
The driver asked the question out of curiosity.
Qiao Yanyu's answer only made him more puzzled, wanting to know what was going on.
"Let's set up a stall."
"Huh?" The driver glanced at Qiao Yanyu in the rearview mirror. He didn't think she was stupid, but something about what she said just didn't sound right. As a driver who was always on the go, he was quite familiar with the area around the park. There weren't many people there during the day, let alone at night. And she was setting up a stall there? What was she selling, and to whom? Selling to ghosts?
Moreover... he had to take a taxi there in a wheelchair, and the fare alone cost several tens of dollars. He hadn't even earned any money that night, and he had already spent a lot of it.
The driver found it strange. When they arrived at their destination, he felt an overwhelming sense of desolation. He helped by placing the wheelchair near the back door, and then watched as Qiao Yanyu deftly transferred to it herself. The night wind was chilly, and there was no one else around; only the two of them stood under the streetlights.
The driver felt...something was a bit strange.
He shuddered, still somewhat uneasy: "Is it really okay to just drop you off here?"
"Okay, thank you for your help."
A gust of wind blew by, making the boss's hair stand on end. The driver could only swallow hard before getting back in the car and driving off.
After everyone left, Qiao Yanyu took out her phone and told He Zhao that she had arrived.
While waiting at the traffic light, He Zhao took a moment to reply to her: I'll be there soon.
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