Chapter 18: Long Qinxin Hires a Hitman
The next morning, Long Qinxin woke up in her newly rented apartment. She had clutched her phone all night, not letting go.
“No reply…”
She looked at her message list. Twelve hours had passed since she returned home and asked about Lu Zhiyin’s condition, but there was still no reply.
Long Qinxin’s eyes dimmed.
She hadn’t slept well all night and felt groggy and mentally exhausted.
She couldn’t help but wonder if her view of Lu Zhiyin was truly just as a friend. Perhaps the reality was different?
It didn’t matter…
Getting up from the sofa, Long Qinxin put on her shoes and walked unsteadily into the kitchen.
Subconsciously, she wanted to make a bento for Lu Zhiyin. After opening the refrigerator, she realized it was her new home upon seeing the empty shelves. Because she felt so bad yesterday, she had forgotten to buy groceries.
“Sigh…”
With a sigh, Long Qinxin closed her eyes and touched her chest.
She could understand that Lu Zhiyin might not be able to visit her because of Leng Qing Qiu, but… why wouldn’t she even reply to a message?
Distraught, she walked into the bedroom and took out a stack of the highest denomination banknotes from the wallet carelessly thrown on the bed.
“…Three thousand yuan. I wonder if that will make that person suffer a bit…”
Thinking of Leng Qing Qiu’s annoying face, Long Qinxin clenched her fist.
She was preparing to spend money to hire Taimei from school.
Holding the money, Long Qinxin put on her backpack and left the apartment. She couldn’t be bothered to wash up and had no mood to tidy her appearance.
…
As Long Qinxin embarked on her way to school with great dissatisfaction, Leng Qing Qiu had just woken up from her sleep.
“Yawn~”
After dealing with Lu Zhiyin last night, it was almost midnight. After Lu Zhiyin fell asleep, Leng Qing Qiu couldn’t be bothered to go back to the bedroom, so she made do with a bowl of instant noodles on the sofa.
“Are you sick?”
Standing up, Leng Qing Qiu looked at the coffee table.
By the coffee table, Lu Zhiyin’s blood had already dried. The shattered porcelain pieces stained with blood still lay in place. Leng Qing Qiu was too lazy to clean them, and naturally, Lu Zhiyin couldn’t clean up the fragments either.
Changing her direction, Leng Qing Qiu looked at Lu Zhiyin, who was curled up into a small ball, hugging herself with one hand.
The girl had not yet woken up, her brows furrowed as if having a nightmare.
Her clothes were dry but still a bit wrinkled and not very presentable. On her hair, scattered wolfberry seeds still clung to her strands, making her look messy.
Leng Qing Qiu squatted down and reached out to touch Lu Zhiyin’s forehead.
Her forehead was a little warm.
“…”
Shaking her head, Leng Qing Qiu stood up, went back to the bedroom to change into her school uniform, and then slung her backpack over her shoulder.
She wouldn’t bother with Lu Zhiyin, at least not now. Perhaps when she returned after school, she would buy Lu Zhiyin a box of cold medicine?
Shrugging, Leng Qing Qiu left home.
Her mood was not good, and Lu Zhiyin’s question from yesterday inexplicably resurfaced in her mind.
What was their relationship? Was it really just a matter of a toy and its owner? Leng Qing Qiu pursed her lips.
She was indeed too harsh on her childhood friend.
…
As Leng Qing Qiu left home, Long Qinxin had already arrived at school.
She arrived very early, the first one in the entire school. Under the dim sky, the empty school felt somewhat oppressive.
“…If only I could go to school with her.”
Closing her eyes, Long Qinxin’s mind conjured the image of Lu Zhiyin smiling gently at her.
She touched the three thousand yuan lying quietly in her pocket and returned to the classroom.
She went to Lu Zhiyin’s seat, leaned down slightly, and rested her upper body on Lu Zhiyin’s desk.
On the cold desktop, Long Qinxin seemed to feel Lu Zhiyin’s presence.
She pulled over another stool, sat down, and tried to imagine herself as Lu Zhiyin.
Behind her, unbearable stench emanated from the nearby trash can. The environment was truly awful.
Had Lu Zhiyin always stayed in such an environment? The answer should be yes.
She tried to choke herself with her hands, applying force. An unspeakable feeling of suffocation came.
“Cough… cough…”
After a while, just as she was about to suffocate, Long Qinxin released her hands.
Judging by the marks on Lu Zhiyin’s neck, she must have been treated like this many times.
Long Qinxin was trying to understand Lu Zhiyin better.
Losing her legs, losing her parents, being targeted by teachers at school, and being casually abused by Leng Qing Qiu, the only person she could rely on.
Long Qinxin’s eyes became a little moist.
The light that had saved her from the darkness was itself trapped in an even deeper darkness.
Long Qinxin temporarily forgot her disappointment over the unanswered messages and strengthened her resolve to protect Lu Zhiyin.
Returning the stool to its place, Long Qinxin stood up. She tossed her backpack onto her own seat and then left.
Standing in the corridor, Long Qinxin rubbed her palms together.
Autumn mornings were very cold, and Long Qinxin felt a bit chilly. She worried about Lu Zhiyin again.
If even she felt cold in this weather, would Lu Zhiyin, with her frail body, get sick?
Looking troubled, Long Qinxin slowly went downstairs. She arrived at the school gate and waited quietly for someone.
Raising her head, a slightly cool breeze blew on her face, somewhat reassuring Long Qinxin.
She waited at the school gate for a long time until a well-known group of thugs from the school appeared in her sight.
There were five of them in total, both male and female, but all of them were tall.
Long Qinxin had been bullied by these people before. If it were the Long Qinxin of the past, she might have been too scared to talk to them, but now, Long Qinxin was no longer afraid.
“You, stop for a moment.”
As the five people walked past Long Qinxin, she waved her hand.
“Help me with something, and I’ll give you money, a lot of money.”
Long Qinxin knew that if she didn’t mention money, these people wouldn’t stop for her.
When Long Qinxin mentioned giving them money, the group of thugs who had ignored her and walked ahead stopped.
“…”
Long Qinxin turned around and looked at the crowd in front of her silently.
Suppressing her nervousness, Long Qinxin maintained a calm expression.
These thugs seemed to have already forgotten Long Qinxin, so they looked at her with mild curiosity.
“Beat up Leng Qing Qiu for me and make her suffer.”
As she spoke, Long Qinxin took out ten banknotes from her pocket. She raised her hand and then released her fingers, letting the ten banknotes flutter down.
A girl from the group of five picked up the money, while the leader, a boy, took out a folding knife and played with it in his hand.
“Okay.”
Nodding, the leader did not intend to ask about Long Qinxin’s grievances with Leng Qing Qiu.
They accepted the money and would do the job.
“This thousand yuan is just a deposit. If you can make Leng Qing Qiu suffer enough, I’ll give you another two thousand yuan.”
Clutching the money in her pocket, Long Qinxin’s heart pounded faster than ever before. She didn’t know if hiring thugs was going too far.
“Alright, we’ll satisfy you.”
Upon hearing that there was more money to be earned, the leader of the group of five became respectful.
They entered the school gate side by side, planning to first inquire about Leng Qing Qiu’s usual haunts.
Long Qinxin was left alone, feeling somewhat lost.
Hiring thugs to bully others, Long Qinxin felt she had gone down a path of no return. However, for Lu Zhiyin, she was willing to do it.
