Chatting skills
After the target went to the toilet, Qingcheng didn't follow the person like a puppy. Instead, she ran to the water room next to the lounge. The water room was located in the northwest corner, next to the toilet but not connected. The toilet was due north, and there was a small shop in the southeast of the lounge.
The gurgling sound of the boiler boiling water perfectly masked any other noise. Kiyosumi cautiously glanced around, casually pulled out a piece of chewing gum, and while chewing, calculated the height of the window from the ground.
Wearing sportswear today, jumping down felt effortless. Qingcheng stepped into the pool and flipped over from the half-person-high window of the water room. According to her investigation, the store's warehouse was located in the small courtyard behind the water room.
There was another small door leading directly to the back door exit, but Qingcheng did not have the key to the warehouse. A high fence with a door was built along the corner of the back door and the water room, forming a separate small courtyard.
A huge iron padlock, cold to the touch, hung on the warehouse door with a thick chain. After confirming that no one was around, Qingcheng quickly spat out chewing gum, stuck it on the padlock, poked it in with a hairpin, and finally cleared away the excess foam from the lock. After a series of actions, she decisively put away her "weapon."
Using her height advantage, she stepped over the wall and flipped back into the washroom. Inside, she pressed herself against the cold wall and listened to the sounds from the toilet. After a while, she heard the sound of running water washing hands in the toilet next door.
Peeking out the window and confirming it was Zhang Lulu, Qingcheng shook her head and started clapping her hands, "1, 2, 3, 4..." When she counted to 32, Qingcheng slowly came out of the washroom.
The shop assistant was seen with her head down, explaining something to Zhang Lulu. Then, with a pained expression, she ran towards the warehouse. Qingcheng immediately stopped the shop assistant: "Little girl, where are you going? I need to get something."
"Ms. He, I'm going to the warehouse to restock. I'll be right back." The sales clerk gave a brief explanation and then disappeared.
He Qingcheng then let go of the saleswoman and went straight to the counter of the convenience store. He nodded to Zhang Lulu in a friendly manner. Since the two had met once before, Zhang Lulu smiled and nodded back out of politeness.
After waiting for quite a while without seeing the salesperson come out, Zhang Lulu became increasingly irritated and began to complain under her breath: "Where did they go? They've been gone for so long and it's still not ready. The warehouse is so far away."
Zhang Lulu was unusually agitated, constantly scratching her arms, and then clutching her clothes and shaking them—a typical withdrawal symptom. Qingcheng, on the other hand, simply sat quietly in a chair to the side, casually flipping through today's newspaper, without saying a word.
After a while, the saleswoman still hadn't come. Instead, another woman who had been with her came looking for her: "Lulu, why haven't you come over for so long? Brother Shen thought something had happened to you."
Shen Ge is Zhang Lulu's agent. Zhang Lulu immediately explained, "I just wanted to buy some snacks because I'm a little hungry. Sister Yan, what do you want to eat? I'll buy you some."
The woman declined Zhang Lulu's offer, patted her hand, and left. Once the woman was gone, Zhang Lulu hugged herself tightly, panting heavily, trying to calm her anxiety.
"Have we fallen into a trap? Are you quitting business?" Zhang Lulu had just sat down when she suddenly sat up again, pacing back and forth. Her soft complaints turned into accusations, and her expression became increasingly ferocious.
This time the noise was a bit loud, and He Qingcheng put down her newspaper and looked at Zhang Lulu.
"I'm sorry, Ms. He, I disturbed you." Zhang Lulu could only smile awkwardly to cover up her embarrassment.
“It’s alright, Miss Zhang, if you’re hungry, you can go get something to eat first, just leave the money behind. I’ll be your witness,” Qingcheng said righteously.
"Hey, it's not food, I actually wanted to..." Zhang Lulu hadn't finished speaking when the saleswoman came running over, panting, but she didn't have anything in her hands.
"Are you kidding me? Making customers wait this long, I'm definitely going to complain!" Zhang Lulu shouted at the sales clerk.
"I'm sorry, Miss Zhang, we didn't get your things. The warehouse key broke off at the lock, probably because it's too cold."
"I don't care, I just want Fairy Brand cigarettes." Zhang Lulu said, pulling out a wad of cash and throwing it to the sales clerk.
When the fire was almost extinguished, Kiyosumi raised the newspaper to cover the corners of her upturned mouth.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, that brand is really out of stock. Please go out and buy it elsewhere." The saleswoman kept apologizing to Zhang Lulu.
"Little girl, get me a pack of Fairy Brand cigarettes," Qingcheng said leisurely, deciding to throw a grenade over.
"Okay, Miss He." The sales clerk said, squatting down and taking a pack of Fairy Brand cigarettes from under the shelf and placing it on the counter.
Zhang Lulu was about to leave when she heard that what she wanted was still in stock. She couldn't hold back her emotions any longer and slammed her hand on the counter, yelling at the saleswoman, "Didn't you say you didn't have any? How come you have it as soon as someone comes in?"
"Miss He has already paid for this pack of cigarettes; she's just leaving it with me for now," the saleswoman continued to explain.
"I bought it a few days ago and left it here. I'm just picking it up now," Kiyosumi said promptly to help the sales clerk out of the predicament.
Hearing Qingcheng speak up, Zhang Lulu tempered herself a little and looked at the cigarette in Qingcheng's hand with some frustration.
Qingcheng's expression changed, and she revealed a beautiful smile: "Miss Zhang, do you want to speak frankly? I can certainly afford to invite you, my fellow fairy."
“Those who know how to smoke Fairy Brand cigarettes are naturally fairies.” Zhang Lulu immediately understood Qingcheng’s meaning and gracefully accepted the cigarette. “Let’s go out first. My manager is very strict with me, and I’ve been performing on stage recently, so I have to avoid a lot of things.”
Qingcheng thought to herself, "She really is an actress. Her expression changes as easily as turning the pages of a book." She then said coyly, "My girlfriends don't let me smoke either. If they see me, they'll give me a lecture."
Zhang Lulu seemed to feel a sense of resonance and asked with a smile, "We're both in the same boat, shall we share this, fairy?"
“That would be perfect.” Kiyosumi readily and boldly accepted her invitation.
The nearest smoking spot was the back door connected to the lounge, and the two found a secluded spot to start smoking.
"Ah, this must be what they call floating on air and feeling like an immortal," Zhang Lulu exclaimed, squinting her eyes after satisfying her nicotine craving.
"The smoke must be nice, you seem to have quite a smoking habit," Kiyosumi retorted, adding that she herself wasn't addicted to smoking and only had one when socializing.
“My job is stressful, and when I can’t take it anymore, I smoke a cigarette. Over time, my addiction has gotten worse, and when I crave a cigarette, it feels like my whole body is crawling with ants.” Zhang Lulu blurted it all out without any warning.
"I'm not addicted to cigarettes. I just like to have a puff when I'm happy, just like drinking alcohol, a little is good for the mood." Qingcheng didn't answer Zhang Lulu directly. No matter how she looked at Zhang Lulu, she didn't think Zhang Lulu was addicted to cigarettes, but rather to something else.
A life of extravagance and debauchery leads to moral decay. It would be such a pity if Zhang Lulu actually became addicted to opium.
"Miss He, do you come here often?" Zhang Lulu asked tentatively.
The question about the target had already been rehearsed many times in Qingcheng's mind, so she casually replied, "It's alright, it's irregular, it just comes when I think of it."
"Haha, me too." Zhang Lulu laughed, flicked her cigarette ash, and loosened her arms.
“Work is so hard, the point of going out to have fun is to be happy. Don’t you think so?” Kiyosumi countered.
“Yeah, it’s not easy for me to come out. I finally managed to find a free moment to come and have some fun. Tsk, if only my fans or those damn entertainment reporters were as understanding as you.” Qingcheng’s words really hit Zhang Lulu right in the heart.
"I'm afraid not. Being a reporter is a job. If he doesn't do it, his boss won't want him to either," Qingcheng replied objectively. When chatting, don't always agree with what the other person says, otherwise they will think you have no opinions of your own, and you will lose the initiative in the conversation.
"You're saying we should sympathize with those entertainment reporters? You wouldn't happen to be in cahoots with them, would you?" Zhang Lulu became wary again upon hearing this.
“Yes.” Qingcheng answered directly, looking Zhang Lulu in the eye, without hiding anything. “I’m still a newspaper editor.”
"Huh? Won't you write something nonsense when you get back? You saw me smoking all of that." Zhang Lulu was a little surprised but then relieved. "But Miss He is definitely not the kind of tasteless tabloid reporter. You must be the trigger for a major newspaper."
"I'm an editor for the newspaper, and besides, I write editorials and essays. I don't have time to write gossip." Qingcheng flicked her cigarette ash to show her disdain for writing tabloid news, and then changed the subject to Zhang Lulu, saying, "Your foundation is pretty good quality. It didn't smudge even when you sweat. What brand is it?"
“That’s a French brand called Le Soo, it’s really good at waterproofing. Yong An Department Store has already introduced it, you should hurry up and buy it, or it will be out of stock again.” Zhang Lulu became interested when talking about cosmetics.
"I really like this brand too. I didn't know it had been introduced to the market. Thank you for telling me. Oh, I have something to do this afternoon, so I'll head back now. Have fun, fairy." Qingcheng knew when to stop and didn't want to linger.
Never talk about everything at once, or you'll run out of things to say next time. Leave something to talk about and continue when you meet again. Kiyosumi pretended to glance at her watch, stubbed out her cigarette, and made an excuse to leave.
"You had fun, I hope. We can team up next time," Zhang Lulu said, waving goodbye with a hint of disappointment.
“Okay, let’s meet again.” Turning around, Qingcheng gave a meaningful smile.
Waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump sounds silly, doesn't it? That's because most people don't understand the key point. The most crucial point is the "tree stump"—is it random or deliberate?
Was it placed where rabbits would appear 80% of the time? Was the tree stump decorated in a way that rabbits would like, so they would rush towards it without hesitation? Finally, it was all about repeating this action over and over again. From the moment Zhang Lulu stepped into the stadium, she was in the game.
For today's event, she had been "working overtime" for several days in a row. Every day after leaving the newspaper office, she would have Lao Qin drive her around the tennis court before she would personally sneak into the meeting room and count the steps between the doors in the dark.
Back home, I had to listen to Zhang Lulu's interview tapes, calculate her speaking speed, draw a topographical map of the site, and repeatedly simulate and calculate the possible locations and routes of the "rabbit."
There were also areas she needed to manage herself; for example, the window of the water room was a shortcut to the warehouse, making less noise than climbing over a fence. Her lifestyle habits, the brands she liked to smoke, and her status as a member of the Shanghai Tennis Association were all cleverly packaged as the tree stump that could attract rabbits.
A well-constructed stake is like Jiang Taigong fishing—waiting for the willing to take the bait. Until we meet again, Miss Zhang…
It was almost noon when Qingcheng said goodbye to her friends. Tan Baozhen grabbed Qingcheng's arm, her rosy little face scrunched up: "Chengcheng, have you forgotten what we were supposed to do this afternoon?"
"What for? I'm going to my aunt's house," Qingcheng replied straightforwardly, deliberately teasing her best friend. How could Zhenzhen be so cute?
"Hmph! I'm ignoring you, it's my dad's birthday."
Qingcheng pinched Zhenzhen's little face and said, "Silly girl, how could I forget? I'll go back and get the gift first. If I go empty-handed, won't my godparents be angry?"
"That's more like it. I'll go home and wait for you then." Zhenzhen suddenly remembered something and said a little shyly, "By the way, my dad also invited a few friends and students. You don't mind, do you?"
"It's alright, I'm a guest too, why would I be picky about other guests?" Kiyosumi thought for a moment and felt it was nothing, but her eyelids kept twitching, she probably hadn't slept well, she'd go back and take a nap to recharge.
"Actually, I don't like meeting strange men. Come keep me company soon." Zhenzhen clung to Qingcheng's arm, refusing to let go.
"I know, I know. My godfather used to be the principal of the Baoding Military Academy. His friends and students were definitely all men. Why aren't you used to it yet?" Qingcheng comforted the sulking Tan Baozhen.
"Dad's okay, but it's my mom who's the problem. She thinks I'll never get married, so now she tries to force any unmarried man on me," Zhenzhen complained, pouting.
"Just bear with it. Your godmother's era was still a feudal dynasty. We live in the new century now, so some generation gap is normal." Qingcheng could only try to persuade her gently.
"Okay, then I'll go back and wait for you." Qingcheng finally managed to coax Tan Baozhen back, but she still felt uneasy, as if there were some key points that she had grasped but hadn't fully grasped.
Never mind, I'll go back and take a nap first.
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