A deeper secret
The training of the past few days was quite useful. Luo Yuwen stood up as if he had received some instructions, and his expression instantly entered the role: "What! Madam! Your husband..."
"Where is he?!"
Jiang Shuiying said in a panic that her husband had secretly installed a positioning system on his cell phone and was heading towards the bookstore. She asked Luo Yuwen to hide quickly and not be discovered by him, otherwise both she and Luo Yuwen would be finished!
Her expression was flustered and her voice was unstable, which made Qu Qing nervous as well.
Qu Qing thought for a while, pointed to the promotion table in the middle of the store, and said that it was empty underneath and covered with a tablecloth, so it would not be a problem to hide from Luo Yuwen, so he told him to go in quickly.
The promotion table is usually used to display best-selling books. It is located not far from the door and is stacked with organized books.
Luo Yuwen lifted the tablecloth and found that there was indeed a lot of space underneath, and it was very wide. Without thinking too much, he crawled in. Jiang Shuiying and Qu Qing hurriedly helped him to tidy up the tablecloth. After a while, you really couldn't tell that there was a person hiding underneath.
After finishing the tidying up, Jiang Shuiying leaned on the promotion table with her arms folded, frowning and looking at her phone from time to time. Qu Qing, who was standing beside her, saw that she was so anxious and hurried forward to comfort her, patting Jiang Shuiying's shoulder gently.
"Miss Jiang, are you okay..."
Jiang Shuiying just shook her head and said nothing.
Luo Yuwen, who was under the table, felt very uncomfortable. The narrow space prevented him from stretching out. At the same time, he felt a little funny and had some inexplicable excitement.
The same scene happened once at Yan's, and now he was hiding under the table again. Luo Yuwen felt that he had really become Jiang Shuiying's lover.
Not long after, Jiang Shuiying's cell phone rang. She nodded to Qu Qing, walked under the eaves outside the store, and answered the call.
Jiang Shuiying's voice was very soft and it was raining outside. Qu Qing inside couldn't hear what Jiang Shuiying was saying. He could only see that her expression was sometimes solemn and sometimes relaxed, and she seemed to be dealing with some troubles.
Ten minutes later, Jiang Shuiying returned to the store, breathed a sigh of relief, and said to Luo Yuwen under the table:
"Luo Yuwen, please come out! My husband is cheating on me. It's so scary..."
Luo Yuwen came out from under the table and stood in front of Jiang Shuiying. His leather jacket was wrinkled, there was some dust in his hair, and his expression was quite pitiful.
Jiang Shuiying understood his expression and knew that he was into the role. She reached out to help him brush off the dust and straighten his collar, her tone guilty:
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done this to you..."
"It's okay, ma'am. As long as you're by my side, it doesn't matter if I suffer a little..."
The two of them were acting with great devotion. Jiang Shuiying saw Qu Qing holding a rag tightly in his hand, as if he had something to say.
Jiang Shuiying pulled away at the right time, took Luo Yuwen's hand and prepared to say goodbye to Qu Qing: "Miss Qu, we are leaving first. I am really sorry to bother you."
After saying that, the two of them prepared to leave, but before they reached the door, Qu Qing stopped them.
Baited! Luo Yuwen thought.
"Um! Wait a moment!"
The two turned around, and Luo Yuwen thought Qu Qing was going to say something to Jiang Shuiying, after all, she was the one having an extramarital affair. But what he didn't expect was that Qu Qing actually spoke to him:
"Well... I know I shouldn't interfere with my guests' lives, but I still want to say that if you really like Miss Jiang, you shouldn't destroy her family."
"Being the third party is not a good choice. I know this feeling... this painful feeling..."
"In short, if you really love her, don't destroy her family."
After saying this, Qu Qing's eyes were visibly filled with tears, and he lowered his head with a choked voice.
Luo Yuwen and Jiang Shuiying looked at each other - it's done!
Jiang Shuiying wanted to help Qu Qing into the store, but was rejected by Qu Qing. Then Qu Qing said that he was going to close the store and asked them to leave. They also knew that they couldn't rush things, so they returned to Luo Yuwen's car together.
Jiang Shuiying sat in the passenger seat with a smug look on her face. "If nothing goes wrong, I'll be able to get some clues out of Qu Qing tomorrow. What do you think, Luo Yuwen? My plan is pretty good, isn't it?"
Luo Yuwen smiled and said, "Yes, yes, Miss Jiang's plan is amazing. Most people can't think of it."
Jiang Shuiying smiled even more after hearing this, and joked to Luo Yuwen:
"Luo Yuwen, what did you just say? You said that as long as my wife is by my side, it doesn't matter if I suffer a little..."
***
On the fifth day, reading day arrived as scheduled.
According to the time on the card, at 7:30 in the evening, Jiang Shuiying and Luo Yuwen pushed open the door of Qu Qing's shop half an hour early.
I saw that the low bookshelf originally placed in the middle of the store had been moved away and replaced with a circle of coffee chairs. In front of it was a movable stand TV, which displayed the title of the Book Reading Day.
Such a serious atmosphere made Luo Yuwen's brows deepen a little. Could it be that Qu Qing was a victim of domestic violence?
From the previous conversation between Jiang Shuiying and Qu Qing, Luo Yuwen did not realize that Qu Qing was already married or had a lover. The only possibility was Yan Ming.
But all this was just speculation; there had to be evidence. Furthermore, if Qu Qing didn't speak, no matter how much they investigated, it would be in vain. They had to get Qu Qing to speak, and he had to speak on his own initiative.
There were not many people in the store at that time. Qu Qing was setting up the venue. When he saw the two of them coming, he came over to greet them.
"Welcome, everyone. The others haven't arrived yet. Please take a seat first."
After the two sat down, Qu Qing brought them coffee, which was still Jiang Shuiying's favorite flat white.
Not long after, the people who signed up for the reading club arrived, and Luo Yuwen discovered that he and another younger-looking boy were the only men present, and the rest were all women.
Luo Yuwen looked at Jiang Shuiying beside him and found that she looked normal, as if her mood was not affected by this rather serious topic.
Jiang Shuiying noticed Luo Yuwen's gaze and turned to look at him, "Huh? What's wrong?"
Luo Yuwen shook his head and said nothing.
The minute hand on the clock moved slowly, and when the time came, Qu Qing sat down on the right side of Jiang Shuiying. Under her leadership, the reading club began on time, and everyone sat together in a circle.
After a while, when everyone had quieted down, Qu Qing introduced himself as the manager of the store. Everyone who came to the book club could share the books they had read recently, the insights they had gained recently, and even their own experiences.
"Of course, if you feel uncomfortable, you can stop at any time. It's okay if you don't want to share. Our purpose is to communicate, and we won't force anything."
Qu Qing's long hair was blown slightly, she smiled gently, and sat in front of the circle, looking like a very patient and caring sister.
"Everyone can start now."
After a brief silence, a middle-aged woman in long sleeves and long pants spoke first. Her cheekbones were very prominent and her face was a little sallow, but her eyes were bright and her voice was very powerful.
A middle-aged woman shared her experience of how she and her child were almost beaten to death by her abusive husband, and how she later escaped from him with her child and successfully divorced.
During her story, she remained calm and even became a little excited when she spoke about her successful divorce. Many people present were moved, including Qu Qing and Jiang Shuiying. Although Luo Yuwen listened attentively, he still paid attention to secretly observe the two people.
Qu Qing smiled and encouraged the middle-aged woman with his eyes, but when he heard that the woman was hurt, he frowned and looked unhappy, as if he didn't want to hear these details.
Jiang Shuiying on the other side had an even more serious expression. Ever since the middle-aged woman started to tell her story, her brows had been tightly furrowed and had never relaxed.
The attitudes of both people were normal, and Luo Yuwen couldn't see any flaws at the moment.
"So, I left him. Fortunately, I got a smooth divorce, otherwise he would have killed me and my child..."
"This is my story. I want to tell everyone that if you are hurt, you must not endure it. Only by resisting can we have a chance to survive."
As soon as the middle-aged woman finished speaking, Qu Qing took the lead in applauding, and the sound lasted for a long time.
Next, a young man and a young woman began to tell their stories. Both of them were survivors who escaped from the clutches of domestic violence and started a new life.
Luo Yuwen noticed that perhaps because the young woman was about the same age as Qu Qing, Qu Qing's eyes had become moist during the story, and his reaction was greater than before. Luo Yuwen looked at Jiang Shuiying and found that she was also looking at him and nodded at him. This reaction showed that Jiang Shuiying had also noticed that something was wrong with Qu Qing.
It seems that the breakthrough is right in front of us, Luo Yuwen said to himself.
As the young woman spoke softly, the atmosphere in the room became heavy again. To outsiders, the young woman's marriage seemed very happy. Her husband was rich and her parents doted on her. She had been spoiled since she was a child and she felt she had met the best husband in the world. But all the good things were ruined by alcohol.
Before the young woman got married, she only thought her husband seemed to be a bit of an alcoholic. She didn't expect that after they got married, her husband would throw empty bottles at her. Fortunately, the young woman successfully divorced and got rid of her alcoholic husband.
The story sharing came to an abrupt end at this point, because Qu Qing, who had been calm, was now sobbing. Jiang Shuiying, who was sitting next to her, saw this and took out a tissue and handed it to her, and even reached out to pat Qu Qing's back to comfort her.
"Ms. Qu..."
Qu Qing's choked voice echoed in the quiet room: "I'm sorry... everyone... I really..."
At this time, the clerk who was originally standing at the back appeared at the right time and took over Qu Qing's hosting of the book club until the end, and also distributed souvenirs.
The crowd dispersed, and only Qu Qing, Jiang Shuiying, Luo Yuwen, and a clerk who stayed behind to tidy up the bookstore were left.
Qu Qing's sobs echoed in the room. She seemed to be immersed in her own emotions and couldn't get out. Jiang Shuiying couldn't bear it and lent Qu Qing a shoulder.
"Cry."
From Luo Yuwen's perspective, he could only see Qu Qing's thin body leaning on Jiang Shuiying's shoulder. Jiang Shuiying's long hair blocked the expressions of the two people, and Luo Yuwen could not see clearly.
About ten minutes later, the sobbing became quieter, and Qu Qing lifted himself up from Jiang Shuiying's shoulders.
Luo Yuwen looked around and found that the clerk who stayed behind had left at some point, and now there were only three of them in the bookstore.
Jiang Shuiying spoke softly, "Miss Qu, are you feeling better?"
Qu Qing sobbed and wiped away tears, his eyes were very red and swollen, and he spoke after a while:
"Much better, thank you, Miss Jiang."
Luo Yuwen, who was standing by, seemed a little bewildered. He didn't know how to comfort her properly, so he simply kept his mouth shut. Moreover, Luo Yuwen looked at Qu Qing's sad expression, and unexpectedly became suspicious in his heart.
Why did Qu Qing have a breakdown when he heard that a young woman was being abused by her alcoholic husband?
People will empathize with those who have the same experience as themselves. Qu Qing's reaction is very telling. She herself is one of the victims of domestic violence, and perhaps this domestic violence is related to Yan Ming.
Luo Yuwen was thinking when he heard Qu Qing sit up straight and speak to Jiang Shuiying:
"Ms. Jiang, please ask whatever you want. I know you are investigating me."
"I also know that you two are not actually lovers."
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