Eating Melons in the Police Station

That evening, after giving Little Tong a bath, Qiu Sheng dressed her in a dinosaur onesie, transforming her into a chubby little dragon with horns on her head and a tail behind her.

Qiu Sheng patted Little Tong's round head and said, "That difficult man is your responsibility now. Can you cheer him up for me?"

The little horned head stretched out, glancing toward the master bedroom, then retracted. Little Tong poked her cheeks with her index fingers, creating two dimples in her chubby face.

"But his mouth was already pouting like this earlier," she said.

"Sweetie, that's not enough. Let's put in a little more effort to make him truly happy," Qiu Sheng replied.

Qiu Sheng had already seen through everything. Zhong Jin wasn't actually angry anymore, but he was being stubborn, waiting for someone to coax him. When a usually mature and steady man acted childish, it was truly something else.

Little Tong crouched low, her arms stretched back like airplane wings, making a "whoosh" sound as she charged into the rainbow-colored master bedroom, bumping the door open with her head.

Zhong Jin looked up from his book. "Zhong Yuntong, close the door behind you when you come in," he said, his tone a mix of exasperation and affection.

Little Tong whooshed back, using her head to push the door shut with a loud clang.

She climbed onto the bed from the foot, burrowed under the covers, and wriggled her way to the head of the bed. A round head adorned with a green dinosaur hood popped out from under the blanket.

"Tell me a story," she demanded.

Zhong Jin set down his copy of *The Trace Examiner* and picked up a picture book from the nightstand titled *I Want to Play a Little Longer*.

He pulled Little Tong close, her fluffy dinosaur head resting against his chest.

Instead of starting the story right away, he asked, "Did Mommy send you here to keep me company?"

The little dinosaur head nodded vigorously. Then, holding up a tiny finger, she looked at Zhong Jin seriously and explained, "She told me to cheer you up and said we should go to the food street tomorrow to have fun."

Zhong Jin pinched the little horn on her head. "The part about the food street was your idea, wasn't it?"

Little Tong butted her head against Zhong Jin's chest.

"But today, because of that brother who wanted to become you, Mommy got really mad, and I didn't get to have fun."

Zhong Jin asked, "You mean that brother said he wanted to be your dad, and Mommy got angry? How did she react?"

Little Tong stood up on the bed, hands on her hips, and shouted, "Don't touch my child! The only dad is Zhong Jin!"

Zhong Jin knew that Qiu Sheng had been raised with proper aristocratic manners. Although she had loosened up a bit after being with him, she was still someone who rarely lost her temper. Yu Feiyang and the others sometimes called her "the peanut ninja" because of how patient she was.

Hearing that she had gotten so worked up over this matter touched Zhong Jin deeply.

The little dinosaur wobbled on the soft bed, nearly toppling over as she charged toward him. Zhong Jin quickly reached out to steady her head, preventing her from headbutting his nose.

Sometimes Zhong Jin wondered if Little Tong's big, round head wasn't just for show—it could probably be used as a weapon.

The next day, Zhong Jin prepared breakfast and asked Little Tong to call Qiu Sheng to eat. He still refused to speak to her directly.

As Zhong Jin walked out in his uniform, Qiu Sheng, munching on an egg pancake, said, "The pancake is especially good today, and you look particularly handsome in your uniform."

Zhong Jin turned to the child riding a tricycle around his feet and said, "Tell your mom to stop with the small talk and clean up the table after breakfast—that's what really matters."

Qiu Sheng immediately raised her hand. "Yes, sir! Mission accomplished," she replied.

"Little Tong, tell your mom thank you," Zhong Jin added.

Little Tong, however, had grown tired of playing messenger. No one listened to her messages anymore, so she had become cold and refused to relay anything.

Zhong Jin put on his shoes and was about to leave when he noticed a bit of dust on the tip of his leather shoe. He turned back to change into a cleaner pair.

As he pushed the door open, he saw Little Tong on her tricycle, the wheels pressed against the leg of Qiu Sheng's chair. She declared loudly, "Just give him a good beating, and he'll be fine."

Zhong Jin coughed twice.

The little rascal turned around, saw him, and hurriedly pedaled away, crashing into the bedroom and slamming the door shut.

Qiu Sheng covered her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter.

Zhong Jin glared at her, his lips pressed into a thin line. "I'll text you later. Come pick me up," he said.

"Sure, no problem. But where are we going?" Qiu Sheng asked politely.

Zhong Jin replied coldly, "To the food street."

Only after Zhong Jin had truly left did Qiu Sheng shake her fist at his retreating figure.

"Let's see how long you can keep up this act," she muttered.

Then she called out to the bedroom, "Sweetie, you can come out now. The jealous one is really gone this time."

*

Perhaps because it was Mid-Autumn Festival, the morning meeting at the Public Security Bureau was unusually brief, wrapping up in less than two hours.

As Zhong Jin walked out of the building, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Qiu Sheng: *I'm done here. You can head out now.*

Just as he sent the message, he spotted Little Tong in her overalls, carrying the little orange Hermès bag Qiu Sheng had bought her, wearing a pair of cool kid's sunglasses, and zooming toward him on her scooter.

"What are you doing here?" Zhong Jin asked, stepping down the stairs.

Little Tong grabbed his hand with one hand and held the scooter's handlebar with the other, leading him to the flower bed in the square.

Qiu Sheng, dressed in matching outfits with Little Tong, was sitting on the flower bed, basking in the sun with her eyes closed.

"Why are you here?" Zhong Jin asked.

Qiu Sheng stretched lazily and stood up. "We couldn't let the hardworking one wait for us, right, Little Tong?"

Little Tong adjusted her sunglasses, balancing on one foot on her scooter, and said coolly, "Mom said I was annoying her at home, so she brought me out for a walk."

Qiu Sheng chuckled awkwardly. "Let's go. The food street is probably packed by now."

Once in the car, Zhong Jin took off his uniform jacket and put on a black coat he had left in the car.

The food street was indeed bustling with people. Because of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a stage had been set up at the entrance, where a lion dance performance was underway.

On stage, two dragons danced around a pearl. Little Tong, sitting on Zhong Jin's arm, waved her little arms, kicked her legs, and swayed her head, mimicking the dance.

Children seemed naturally drawn to loud, colorful spectacles. As soon as they entered the food street, Little Tong got excited, waving her little hands and greeting everyone who complimented her.

Some shops offered samples, and Little Tong would carefully pick up a small piece with her tiny hands.

If she didn't like it, she would still finish it and say, "Thank you."

If she liked it, her eyes would sparkle, and she would pat Zhong Jin's head excitedly, saying, "Buy this one!"

Ahead, there was a Mid-Autumn Festival parade with floats and performers in traditional costumes dancing and singing as they moved down the main street.

Zhong ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍Jin lifted Little Tong onto his shoulders so she could see better.

Little Tong patted Zhong Jin’s head, then leaned down and whispered into his ear, “Go forward, there’s a fight up ahead.”

Zhong Jin was speechless. “If you want to see some excitement, let’s just go back to the police station.”

The crowd here was overwhelming. Zhong Jin wanted to call Qiu Sheng and hurry past, but when he turned around, Qiu Sheng was nowhere to be found.

He scanned the area again, but there was still no sign of Qiu Sheng. His heart tightened. Qiu Sheng had psychological issues, and being in such a crowded place, he was worried something might happen.

“Little Tong, look for your mom,” Zhong Jin said, pinching Little Tong’s foot. She was sitting high up and could see better.

“Yes, sir!” Little Tong held onto Zhong Jin’s head, her small hands adjusting her sunglasses as she began scanning the crowd for her mom.

Little Tong patted Zhong Jin’s head again and pointed forward. “I see Mom!”

Zhong Jin’s view was blocked by the crowd, so he looked around once more but still couldn’t spot Qiu Sheng.

Little Tong grabbed Zhong Jin’s ears and manually turned his head in the right direction.

Following the child’s guidance, Zhong Jin finally spotted Qiu Sheng.

She had apparently been squeezed to the point of desperation and had climbed onto a large rock, standing there like a statue from afar.

Zhong Jin, carrying the child, pushed through the crowd and looked up at her. “How did you get up there? And where are your sunglasses?”

Qiu Sheng looked down at them from her perch, her face twisted in distress.

“I can’t get down.”

Zhong Jin examined the smooth, round rock and asked again, “How did you even get up there?”

Qiu Sheng herself seemed baffled.

“I was just thinking about how expensive the bag I’m carrying today is, and I didn’t want it to get crushed. Next thing I knew, I was up here.”

“And your sunglasses?”

“They’re expensive too. I lost one yesterday in the crowd, so I took them off and put them in my bag.”

Zhong Jin was speechless. He had heard the phrase “a bag cures all ills,” but he never thought it would be this literal.

Zhong Jin set Little Tong down on a nearby step, then lifted one foot onto the middle of the rock and planted the other firmly on the ground.

He reached out a hand to Qiu Sheng, letting her hold onto it as she leaned down slightly. He wrapped his other arm around her waist and lifted her down.

Finally escaping the food street, both adults looked utterly drained, like workers on a Monday morning. Only Little Tong, who had been carried or shouldered the entire time, remained energetic.

Back in their car, Little Tong leaned against her child seat, her little legs swaying as she drifted off to sleep.

Qiu Sheng rested her forehead against the car window, lightly tapping her head against the glass in a mechanical rhythm, as if she were feeling a little lost.

Zhong Jin, holding the steering wheel, glanced at her. “Tired?”

“I’m such a useless mom. I can’t even take my own child out alone. I only agreed to let Wen Hechang hold her yesterday because I didn’t want to disappoint Little Tong, but it ended up turning into such a mess.”

She wasn’t trying to act pitiful to win Zhong Jin’s sympathy. Ever since Zhong Jin had been away these past few days, leaving her to take care of the child alone, she had been feeling overwhelmed.

On one hand, Qiu Sheng wasn’t physically strong, and on the other, she had psychological struggles.

The child was not only energetic but also a social butterfly. Taking a child with such a stacked set of traits out was a huge challenge for Qiu Sheng.

Zhong Jin glanced at her again. “Who said you’re useless? That move you pulled climbing onto that rock just now already puts you ahead of ninety percent of people. I couldn’t even get up there.”

After saying that, he calmly continued driving.

When Qiu Sheng didn’t snap back at him, Zhong Jin realized she was genuinely upset.

He reached out and patted her shoulder, comforting her.

“It’s like this at the beginning. When I first found her, I was a mess too. I even thought about handing her over to the state. Before you came, she slept at the police station with me, stayed up late, and ate cafeteria food. Oh, and she was in a daycare once where there was a poisoning incident. Thankfully, she was fine. The biggest mess was when I left her alone at home during a typhoon. Since you’ve been here, her life has actually become much more stable.”

Qiu Sheng stared at Zhong Jin’s reflection in the glass. “Thank you for telling me this. I’ll work harder to become someone she can rely on.”

Zhong Jin replied, “No need to thank me. What I mean is, this is just the beginning. There’s going to be even more challenges ahead, so maybe it’s better to give up now.”

“Even vinegar can’t shut you up.”