Chapter 147: Stealing Fragrance (2)
Xiao Ji had come exactly on time.
Originally, he had only planned to linger around the gate for a while until Pei Yinnian came out of the Police Headquarters.
If he could strike up a conversation, that would be best. If not, catching a glimpse of him and then finding another way to “accidentally” encounter him later wouldn’t be impossible either.
The wallet was just an excuse. In case Pei Yinnian really stood up for him, it wouldn’t be good to have nothing to show for it.
As for whether it could actually be found, Xiao Ji didn’t really care.
But the development of things was clearly smoother than he had imagined.
Just as the patrolman’s baton was about to touch his chest, a police officer walked out of the building and spoke:
“Let him in.”
Xiao Ji stepped into the police building, followed the officer through the corridor, went up to the second floor, and stopped at the door of the Chief’s office. The officer knocked:
“Chief, the person has been brought up.”
Soon, a deep male voice came from inside the room:
“Come in.”
The officer pushed open the office door, gave Xiao Ji a look, and left.
Xiao Ji walked into the office and was met with Pei Yinnian, who was leaning against the windowsill, wearing a military uniform and long boots, with a handsome and stern face.
After a brief exchange of looks, Xiao Ji was the first to look away as if nothing had happened. He looked at the plump Chief Zhao behind the dark-brown wooden desk and said calmly:
“Hello.”
Chief Zhao pointed to the chair opposite him—the one Pei Yinnian had just sat in not long ago—and said to Xiao Ji:
“Sit.”
Xiao Ji wasn’t surprised that their souls were attracted to each other, but he hadn’t expected Pei Yinnian to call him directly into his presence.
He looked at Chief Zhao impassively:
“I’m just here to report a case.”
Chief Zhao glanced at Pei Yinnian and said to Xiao Ji:
“Report it to me then. It’s the same. Speak. What case?”
Xiao Ji’s expression was a bit strange:
“I lost a wallet.”
Chief Zhao was startled and almost started cursing, but for the sake of Pei Yinnian, he held it back and said patiently:
“How much money was in the wallet?”
In front of Pei Yinnian, Xiao Ji told the truth:
“One yuan, seven miao, and three fen.”
Chief Zhao’s forehead vein twitched. “Are you here to look for trouble?”
Xiao Ji said, “In my wallet, there is a photo of my late father.”
Chief Zhao threw down the pen he had prepared to record the case details and said to Xiao Ji:
“This is not within the scope of work for police personnel.”
Xiao Ji lowered his eyes and didn’t speak.
Since he didn’t speak, Chief Zhao didn’t drive him away either.
Sure enough, the silent atmosphere didn’t last. Pei Yinnian spoke:
“What kind of wallet? Where did you lose it? Tell me, and I’ll help you find it.”
Xiao Ji tilted his head to look at Pei Yinnian.
When the distance was far, Pei Yinnian only felt that Xiao Ji overlapped with the person in his dreams.
Now that the distance was close, that indescribable strange feeling grew even stronger.
Xiao Ji was very tall and didn’t look frail.
The long robe on his body was old but not dirty.
His facial contours were distinct but not sharp; they were soft and smooth. His nose bridge was high and straight, and his thin lips were pale. Behind the thin lenses, his long and narrow dark eyes had slightly upturned corners. Below his left eye was a tiny mole about the size of a pinhead.
He clearly looked cool and scholarly, yet when he looked at someone, his eyes seemed to have hooks, hooking directly into Pei Yinnian’s heart.
Xiao Ji met his gaze:
“Brown cattle leather, palm-sized, with two press studs. No pattern, but there are three knife marks on the bottom left of the front. Inside, there was one yuan, seven miao, and three fen, and a photo.”
“I lost it about fifty meters from the main gate of the train station, at the place where rickshaws solicit customers.”
Pei Yinnian gave a nod:
“Okay, got it.”
Xiao Ji looked at him with a suspicious gaze. “Can it be found?”
Pei Yinnian said, “At this time tomorrow night, I’ll have someone send it here. You come and get it.”
Xiao Ji stood up and gave Pei Yinnian a slight bow:
“Thank you, Officer.”
Ordinary commoners, when seeing people in military uniforms like them, would either stay far away or be subservient.
Xiao Ji’s performance was too ordinary and too calm, as if he didn’t care about him at all.
Yet his speech and actions carried an appropriate level of politeness.
Pei Yinnian didn’t know if all the scholars in Huating were this unshakable, or if it was just this person in front of him who was particularly indifferent.
He didn’t speak again, only saying one sentence to Chief Zhao:
“I’m leaving.”
He then straightened his collar and walked straight out of the office.
Seeing this, Xiao Ji also gave a nod to Chief Zhao and followed Pei Yinnian out.
The two of them walked one after the other in the long corridor and went downstairs, neither of them speaking to the other.
Out the main gate of the police station, Xiao Ji watched as Pei Yinnian got into a jeep by the roadside and drove away. He picked up his suitcase from the entrance, stood by the road, and confirmed his way home with 037.
It was about five kilometers from the police station, not considered too remote.
He carried his suitcase and walked in the direction 037 gave.
Just as he reached the intersection at the end of the street, he saw that familiar jeep driving from the other side, slowly stopping in front of him.
The window rolled down. Pei Yinnian sat in the back seat and said to Xiao Ji:
“Get in.”
Xiao Ji refused. “Thank you, but there’s no need to trouble yourself.”
Pei Yinnian didn’t say it a second time, but the car remained stopped in front of Xiao Ji, with no intention of leaving whatsoever.
Xiao Ji didn’t pay any attention to Pei Yinnian either and continued walking along the road that turned right at the intersection.
But that jeep kept following beside Xiao Ji unhurriedly. When Xiao Ji prepared to cross the road for the second time, it once again blocked his path.
It had the stance that if Xiao Ji didn’t get in today, the car would follow him all the way to his doorstep.
Xiao Ji stopped and looked at Pei Yinnian:
“Is the officer planning to run me over?”
Pei Yinnian spoke again: “Get in.”
Once is an invitation, twice is a request.
Refusing again would be a bit impolite.
Xiao Ji opened the car door and dragged his luggage into the car.
Only then did Pei Yinnian ask, “Where to?”
Xiao Ji reported the address and didn’t speak again.
The vehicle traveled at a low speed in the night, not much faster than Xiao Ji walking.
The scenery in the night outside the window was constantly receding. It wasn’t until they drove out of the concession district that Pei Yinnian asked again:
“What do you do?”
“Just returned to the country.”
“Have you found a suitable job?”
“Teaching.”
“What school?”
“National First Middle School.”
“Where did you study abroad?”
This time, Xiao Ji didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Pei Yinnian and, after a long pause, asked a question:
“Is the officer interrogating me?”
Pei Yinnian met his gaze and denied it. “Small talk.”
It wasn’t that Xiao Ji didn’t want to talk more with Pei Yinnian, but there was too much of a gap in their status. Being too eager would instead arouse suspicion.
Pei Yinnian didn’t care either; he just felt that scholars these days were all aloof.
The car soon stopped at the entrance of an alley. Xiao Ji thanked Pei Yinnian again and walked into the small alley without looking back.
Pei Yinnian watched Xiao Ji’s figure until it disappeared into the night. Only then did he say to the driver in the front:
“Go down and see where he lives.”
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