Chapter 16 Chapter 16 They want to kill me!
The guests were silent for two seconds, then there was a commotion and the crowd parted to both sides, making way for a slender figure.
"How can I help?" Lian Qiao walked over quickly, took the elegant woman's hand, and asked in a low voice.
The hostess of the Su family, Chu Man, looked like she was about to cry. "For Xiaoyue's engagement, we specially invited the chef from Qianjinlou to come and cook. The deposit was paid, and the dishes were prepared as requested. But we kept waiting, and he still didn't show up. I just called and asked, and he said he was called away to serve the boss in Jingzhou! Seriously, why didn't they tell us in advance? What should we do with so many guests? And there's something wrong in the kitchen! Ah Qiao, could you please help?"
"good."
Lian Qiao agreed without hesitation, rolling up her sleeves as she explained, "I've been making snacks and home-cooked meals for the past few years. I haven't had a banquet in a long time, so I can't compare to Qianjinlou."
"Just make sure we get through tonight and don't go hungry." Chu Man said gratefully, "Thank you so much—"
"You're welcome." Lian Qiao patted her elder sister's shoulder and went into the kitchen.
Chu Man explained the situation to the guests, explained why the banquet was postponed, and hurried over to help.
In the living room, Su Yue hugged her fiancé's arm tightly, her pretty face full of panic.
Su He led two young talents to play the electronic organ, which made the atmosphere at the banquet lively again.
Ji Yinhe had no intention of appreciating it. She tilted her head and looked through the half-lifted door curtain, just enough to see Lian Qiao and Chu Man both wearing aprons. Then there was a series of tinkling sounds, and the two of them were bending over, as if looking for something.
"...That Lian Qiao, is she your mother?" Miss Tan reached out and snapped her fingers.
"Yes." Ji Yinhe glanced at her sideways, "You are a bit rude."
"I'm rude?" Tan Yaxin pointed her finger at herself. "I'm Su Yue's good friend and a guest. Your mother is just a servant!"
Ji Yinhe laughed: "It's almost the 21st century, and I didn't expect that there are still people with their heads full of feudal dregs."
“…”
Tan Yaxin was a little angry. She wanted to ask her sisters to come over and judge the situation, but she also wanted to use her boyfriend, a policeman, to pressure her.
But Ji Yinhe didn't give her any chance at all.
As Old Ji's head popped out of the door, Comrade Young Ji stood up and walked out with his hands in his sleeves.
"Hmph! I should have called Ah Ci over to help out!" Tan Yaxin felt she couldn't stand up to the other family of three alone, so she could only mutter indignantly, "Her mother is just a nanny, her cooking skills definitely can't compare to Qianjinlou's. When the food is served, I'm going to yell that it's unpalatable and piss them off to death!"
At the gate of the small Western-style building, Comrade Xiao Ji and Comrade Lao Ji successfully met up.
"Where's your mother?"
When Xiao Ji told his father about Ms. Lian Zhengyong's career as a chef, Ji Jianguo immediately said that it was too boring to wait for the table outside, and he also wanted to go to the kitchen to accompany his wife.
The father and daughter set their sights and raised their feet. Suddenly, there was a commotion at the table. Su He, accompanied by his daughter and future son-in-law, trotted across the hall to meet them.
"Jianguo, I thought you weren't coming today! What an honor! Let me introduce you, Xiaoyue and Tongguang. This guy was the one who guided me into business, my life mentor, and the wisest person I've ever met! Hurry and call him Uncle Ji!"
Su Yue and Ding Tongguang blinked, "...Hello, Uncle Ji."
Ji Yinhe looked confused.
Comrade Ji, who has always been lazy, has this ability?
Su He embraced the two younger generations and continued to introduce them: "My daughter Su Yue, her fiancé Ding Tongguang, this child just graduated from graduate school and is now a manager in my company."
Ji Jianguo nodded and said casually, "Hello." Then he pulled Ji Yinhe and said, "My daughter, a police officer."
Su He was full of admiration, "Amazing! Ambitious!"
Ji Yinhe grinned and nodded without any shyness.
"I'm sorry, the chef can't come at the last minute, so I can only ask Lian Qiao for a favor..." Su He patted his thigh, "Jianguo, you and Lian Qiao are our Su family's benefactors, you must take the table today!"
After saying that, he put his arm around Ji Jianguo's shoulder and led the way, rolling up his sleeves to arrange the dishes himself.
Ji Yinhe followed closely behind, and when he was a few meters away, he saw Tan Yaxin with her mouth wide open in surprise.
I suddenly felt very relaxed.
After taking his seat, Ji Jianguo, who was forced to sit at the main table, looked reluctant and kept looking towards the kitchen.
Ji Yinhe leaned close to his ear and asked, "Do you feel more comfortable in the kitchen?"
Ji Jianguo sighed, "...No one knows a father better than his daughter!"
Ji Yinhe asked curiously, "Dad, what kind of magic potion did you give Mr. Su before? Why does he admire you so much?"
Ji Jianguo touched his chin.
If he and Lian Qiao had not forced a change of direction and urged Su He to stay out of the spotlight, the Su family would probably have been wiped out by the scheming fake daughter Su Yiyun's report, just like the original plot of the book "The Lost Real Daughter of the 1970s Comes Back".
"It's nothing, just a trivial matter." He looked profound.
Ji Yinhe squinted at her father and wanted to ask a few more questions when there was a noise from the kitchen. Lian Qiao came out from behind the curtain with brisk steps, pushing a small wheelbarrow.
As soon as we entered the hall, before we even opened the lids of the dishes, the rich aroma wafted into the air, arousing the appetite of everyone present and causing the whole room to burst into an uproar.
"Cross-Bridge Red Grouper, Braised Australian Lobster with Sour Radish and Sweet Potato Flour, Braised Pork with Black Truffle and Abalone, Sichuan-Style Bullfrog, Lion's Head with Crab Roe, and Seasonal Vegetables... Please enjoy!"
Even though he was temporarily asked to be the head chef and directed people to cook ten dishes in half an hour, even the lady's beautiful makeup and hair were still meticulously done, and there was not a single stain on her dress. It looked like she had just come into the kitchen to chat for a while.
In comparison, Chu Man next to him looked a little embarrassed.
"Thank you so much to my good sister, Chef Lian Qiao, for your help today! If you all like the food, please go to Sister Lian's Snack Shop and give it a try!" Chu Man rolled up her sleeves and took the cart herself. "Thank you for your hard work, Qiao. Please take a seat. I'll serve the food!"
Lian Qiao didn't hesitate, took off her apron, and sat down next to her husband and daughter.
She took a sip of tea and exchanged a glance with Ji Jianguo.
"What's wrong?"
Lian Qiao said solemnly, "According to the planned recipe, the quantity of many ingredients is insufficient, and there are more than a dozen rats in the kitchen."
"Plus, the chef suddenly canceled his appointment... Do you think someone is deliberately trying to embarrass this engagement party?"
"Yeah." Lian Qiao nodded calmly, "I guess it's her."
Ji Yinhe pricked up his ears.
……who is she?
But when Su He took his daughter and son-in-law to sit down, Ms. Lian and Old Ji stopped talking at the same time.
After some congratulatory speeches, the engagement banquet officially began.
Bright lights illuminate the delicacies, with the sugar-colored braised pork and the green seasonal vegetables creating a collision of cold and warm flavors. The tender and juicy abalone, the crispy and fragrant roast duck and the dense and sweet taro paste bounce on the tip of the tongue.
The guests also forgot about the little incident and ate happily.
Unexpectedly, after three rounds of drinks, someone suddenly asked tactlessly, "Old Su, where is your other daughter, Xiaoyun?"
As soon as the words were spoken, the atmosphere immediately turned cold.
Su Yue's face turned pale and she lowered her eyes.
"Xiaoyue, are you okay?" Ding Tongguang shook his fiancée's hand.
Su Yue shrank back and shook her head slightly.
All the relatives and friends of the Su family came over quickly and took the tactless person away; Su He, Chu Man and Ding Tongguang stood up and said a few words to smooth things over, but the lively atmosphere suddenly changed.
The engagement party ended just like that.
The three people from the Ji family sat for a while longer, and only stood up and left when most people had left.
Before getting in the car, Ji Yinhe looked at Su Yue, who was in a depressed mood, sitting across the round table. She took out a business card from Zhang Lianjie's snack bar from her bag, turned it over, and quickly wrote down her mailing address and pager number.
"Ms. Su, I'm a criminal police officer." She walked over and handed over her business card. "If you encounter any problems, you can come to me."
Su Yue raised her head, her eyes a little evasive.
"Thank you, but Yaxin's boyfriend is also a police officer... By the way, where is she?"
Ding Tongguang looked around and said, "Maybe he thought the dinner was delicious, so he went to the kitchen to pack up the food."
"Okay." Su Yue lowered her swan-like neck.
Ji Yinhe pressed the business card into her hand and said softly:
"Miss Su, we are both girls. Maybe if you tell me something, it will be more convenient."
*
The dusk was burning, and the train station building was spewing out a surging crowd of people. The aroma of braised tea eggs and the smell of sweat fermented together in the summer heat, and the long line in front of the ticket window stretched all the way to the street.
Several aunts who were in a hurry to catch the bus ran all the way, holding their tickets tightly, and passed by a woman wearing a leather jacket, leather boots and sunglasses.
"You're crazy! Why are you wearing sunglasses so late at night?"
"Maybe he's blind?"
"That was the bus we took just now that came from Jingzhou! The provincial capital is so fashionable, even a blind person can dress so nicely!"
"Oh, it's not too hot!"
Su Yiyu pretended not to hear and looked at the city she had been away from for a long time through the dark filter.
Today is the day that woman gets engaged.
"Tiandu Tiandu! Two more people are needed to start!"
"Want to walk around City Hall Square? No meter required, just eight bucks!"
"Beautiful lady, do you want a place to stay?"
A few smelly thugs came up and looked at the lonely woman with ill intentions, ready to make their dirty moves.
Su Yiyun frowned, quickened his pace, and turned into the alley next to him as if he was familiar with the route.
In a dim corner, a young man walked forward with his hands in his pockets. His hair was slightly long, covering half of his eyebrows and eyes, and a hideous scar was faintly visible.
Su Yiyun was not afraid at all, "Here I come."
The man hummed, raised his chin towards the hooligan who had followed him to the alley entrance, and said, "Show me some color."
Su Yiyun nodded slightly.
The man took a step and passed by her.
A moment later, the dull thud of fists hitting flesh and several screams of pain were heard from the alley entrance.
Su Yiyun had already crossed the alley and got into a black car parked on the side of the road.
The dark back row was filled with smoke, and half of a weather-beaten face peeked out from the shadows.
"Have you thought it through?"
"I've made up my mind." Su Yiyun took off his sunglasses, stared at his reflection in the rearview mirror, and shouted:
"……mom."
*
Two weeks later.
The dawn of early autumn was already chilly. As the sky was about to brighten, the wind banged the glass windows. Ji Yinhe was wrapped in a small quilt, sleeping soundly.
In the silence, there was a sudden and violent knock on the door.
“Bang! Bang, bang, bang—!”
Ji Yinhe woke up from his dream and jumped up.
She put on her coat, picked up the baton on the hanger, and opened the door.
Ji Jianguo was standing in the living room with a nervous look on his face. He put his index finger to his lips to signal her to be quiet, then asked loudly, "Who is it?"
"Uncle Ji, is Officer Ji home? I'm Ding Tongguang." An anxious voice came in, "My fiancée Su Yue is looking for her!"
Ji Yinhe did not take it lightly, "Is Su Yue with you?"
"Officer Xiao Ji, I'm here." Su Yue's voice sounded weak. "You gave me your business card when we got engaged. Do you remember? I, I encountered something and I need to tell you..."
Ji Yinhe breathed a sigh of relief, nodded to Ji Jianguo, put down his baton and unlocked the door.
In the corridor, Su Yue's face was as white as snow, and she was barely able to stand with the support of Ding Tongguang.
Ji Yinhe was startled, "Miss Su, come in quickly."
"No, I have to go back to the hospital later." Su Yue took a deep breath, "I was almost molested last night."
Ji Yinhe's eyes widened. "Where is he? Do you know him? Have you called the police?"
"It was a stranger at the Lijing Nightclub in Beijiang District..." She changed her tone and said in a deep voice, "What I want to tell you is something else."
Ding Tongguang took out a ball of paper from his pocket and handed it to Ji Yinhe.
"This was given to me by the dancer who helped me escape." Su Yue's voice trembled slightly. "I think... she might need the police's help."
Ji Yinhe opened the note, bewildered. Five words appeared on it, bright red, as if written in blood:
"They're going to kill me!"
Ji Yinhe was stunned for only a second. When she came to her senses, she had already grabbed the bag hanging at the entrance and rushed out.
Before Old Ji finished his question, the red motorcycle downstairs had already flown out like a sword and arrow in the cool autumn morning.
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