The Byoukidere Is Her Sweetie

Chapter 165: 165: Zhang Zixi Arrested, Tormented in Another Wave (Second Update)

Zhou Xufang felt terribly sorry for him, “You’ve got blisters.”

Jiang Zhi let her grasp his hand, “Do you pity me?”

“Uh-huh.”

She dabbed a cotton swab with a bit of ointment and gently applied it to his hand, but it hardly adhered, as she was afraid of hurting him.

Jiang Zhi couldn’t stand her half-hearted efforts, which felt ticklish, so he simply took her hand and, with the swab, smeared it all over.

The blisters instantly burst.

Zhou Xufang: “…”

Didn’t that hurt him?

Watching it made her feel the pain.

Jiang Zhi took the disinfectant and poured it over the area, cleaned it off, then squeezed some ointment on it before fetching a band-aid from the medicine bag for Zhou Xufang to apply.

Her expression was… utterly mournful!

Jiang Zhi chuckled, “Now can you understand me?” He ruffled her hair, “When you work hard, I feel sorry for you too.”

Zhou Xufang placed the band-aid on his hand and looked up with remorse, “I won’t take on tough jobs anymore.” She might not feel tired, but she was afraid Jiang Zhi would help her with the work.

“That’s more like it.” Jiang Zhi was pleased with the girl’s epiphany, “We’ll only take on jobs that pay well, aren’t hard, and are not dangerous.”

Lots of money, no hard work, no danger.

Zhou Xufang was puzzled, “Is there such a thing?”

Jiang Zhi had a plan in mind, his peach blossom eyes lit up with delight, gently expressing his lazy contentment around three or four o’clock, “How about my family’s grandmother employs you long-term, and you simply stay by my side?”

So they intended to collude, wallow in the mire, and swindle money together… from the old lady?

Ah!

That’s so wicked.

Zhou Xufang candidly exclaimed, “Jiang Zhi, you’re so cunning.”

Cunning, clearly a pejorative word.

It had been a long while since Zhou Xufang had praised him as a good person; did she no longer care about him? Did she no longer love him? Did she no longer want to pamper him? Did she no longer think he was the best person in the world?

Jiang Zhi felt a strong sense of crisis; his expression fell, he furrowed his brow, moisture gathered in his peach blossom eyes, “Fang Bao, my hand hurts.”

Oh my!

His hand hurts!

Zhou Xufang immediately cradled his hand and pouted, blowing on it.

Jiang Zhi was a bit more at ease now; Zhou Xufang still doted on him.

“Xu Fang.”

“Hmm?”

Jiang Zhi focused on her small, exhaling mouth, and said unabashedly, “I want to kiss.”

Zhou Xufang: “…”

She looked left and right, like a meerkat, already nervous before committing the theft, scanning the area. After surveying the terrain, she whispered to Jiang Zhi, “Let’s hide in the park; there’s no one there.”

Adorable to the max!

Jiang Zhi took his little darling, and off they went to the park.

At three in the afternoon, the sun was hidden by clouds.

Qiao Nanchu had an appointment with Zhang Zixi at a coffee shop; when he arrived, Zhang Zixi was already there, with her coffee half-drunk.

As soon as he sat down, a cup of coffee was brought over by the waiter.

Zhang Zixi had her hair pinned up with a few strands naturally falling by her temples, her earrings simple, which complemented her simple and clean elegance, “I didn’t know your preference has changed, so I ordered you an Americano.”

“It’s all fine.” Qiao Nanchu sat casually and glanced at his watch, “I have to be at the station, so I can only stay for twenty minutes.”

Zhang Zixi put down her coffee cup and made idle chatter, “Is the work at the Criminal Intelligence Department interesting?”

His gaze was indifferent, leaning back on the chair, his posture relaxed and indolent, “It’s alright.”

Actually, inviting him out wasn’t for anything important, there wasn’t even a topic of conversation; it was just that leaving like this, there was still reluctance. Five years had passed, and she thought even a red mole would have worn away, but seeing him, the scar of that mole still ached faintly.

Perhaps, the less one obtains, the more one holds on; the more one holds on, the more it preoccupies the mind.

There was loss in her eyes, “If I hadn’t transferred schools back then, maybe now we’d be colleagues.” She only attended the police academy for two years before she transferred abroad.

“Why didn’t you continue at the police academy?” he asked casually.

She laughed, “You actually don’t know.” Such irony and heartache, her laugh growing more bitter, “Zhang Guomin is my father.”

The name Zhang Guomin was familiar to Qiao Nanchu, a name that had caused a stir in Imperial City five years ago, a party secretary who had embezzled a billion.

However, he paid attention to politics, not personal affairs; he truly didn’t know this party secretary also had a daughter who had been in the police academy.

As time passed, the things that once pained her are now just laughed off when mentioned, “With a direct relative with a criminal record, even passing the political examination wouldn’t get me far.”

Qiao Nanchu offered no comment.

He picked up his coffee and took a small sip, “Then do you know my father is Qiao Shenxing?”

“A light touch was all it took.

He was incredibly meticulous in his thinking.

Zhang Zixi nodded, conceding, “I know, and I also know that the case with my father was handled by your father.”

Zhang Guomin’s case had been personally overseen by his father, who had significant life-and-death authority. His expression remained indifferent, neither angry nor concerned, he simply commented, “No wonder you could cook for Bai Yang for two months, I thought at most one week.”

She was an intelligent person, and naturally understood that his dating wasn’t genuine. Being a proud person, she must have endured the degradation for two months for her father’s sake.

Indeed, even being his girlfriend in name, she had become somewhat entangled with the Qiao Family.

Zhang Zixi swept her hair behind her ear, her expression calm as if speaking of someone else’s affairs: “I also thought your father would show some mercy for your sake.”

After all, as the ‘girlfriend,’ she hoped to spare her father some agony.

But things didn’t go as hoped.

“You don’t understand enough,” Qiao Nanchu said, casually, “I don’t have much relationship with my father.” Besides, in the political arena, what mattered more was weighing pros and cons.

Now that they had opened up, she felt a sense of relief, yet there was still something she didn’t understand: “Why choose me? Why not just hire a caregiver?”

Could it be, she was somewhat different in his eyes? She fled in haste five years ago, without the chance to ask, and she had always wanted to know how much she meant to him.

Qiao Nanchu leaned back in his chair, hands clasped, his gaze undisturbed, “I did hire one, but she laid hands on Bai Yang and I fired her.”

Back then, he hadn’t found anyone reliable, and fearing the caregiver might abuse the little girl, he dared not hire just anyone. Just then, Zhang Zixi’s reputation and popularity were quite favorable.

He thought of letting her care for the child for a few days, so she could see that he was not a good person, hoping she would give up on him for the best. He hadn’t expected her to cook for two months, and in the end, she even “gifted” him a ‘green hat.’

That ‘green hat,’ reportedly the result of drunken debauchery, was none of his concern.

It seemed she was only here for old time’s sake, nothing more. Qiao Nanchu finished most of the coffee in his cup and stood up: “I have a meeting to attend, I must go.”

He pulled back his chair.

The answer she had always wanted to know was evident, without words. She was no different to him, meant nothing. She stood up, “Nanchu.”

He looked up.

Her eyes slightly reddened, “It was because of my father’s case that I approached you, however,” she paused for a long while, “I really did like you.”

He didn’t say anything and turned to leave.

This man, carefree and heartless, like the clouds outside that can’t be grasped. Zhang Zixi sat down, gulping down the rest of the coffee in her cup, the cold brew bitter.

How unwilling she was, she really liked him.

The next day, 10:30 AM, clear skies, not a cloud in sight.

Imperial Airport was bustling with people coming and going, rushing footsteps and the unceasing sound of luggage being pulled along.

Qiao Nanchu leaned against an advertising board, finishing a phone call.

“Where are you, Captain Qiao?”

It was Captain Xiao from the Drug Enforcement Team.

His gaze lingered on a spot, the cigarette in his hand unlit, as he replied, “At the airport.”

Captain Xiao understood immediately, cutting straight to the result, “We just got the stuff; we can make an arrest now.”

Arrests required evidence, so they had been waiting.

Qiao Nanchu drew back his casually stretched legs, tossing his cigarette into the trash, and joked as he began to walk, “If we didn’t get it, I’d have to make the arrest anyway.”

After speaking, he hung up the phone.

At that moment, the airport’s announcement system went off, the gentle and calm voice of a woman read out: “Passengers traveling from Imperial City to T country, please note: Your flight ca1345 will be departing shortly. Passengers who have not yet boarded please proceed to gate 4 immediately for boarding. Thank you! Ladies and gentlemen—”

Zhang Zixi stood up from her seat in the waiting area, her bag hanging from her suitcase. As she pushed it, items from inside the bag spilled out.

It was a photograph of a young man and woman both in police uniforms. It was the only photo of her and Qiao Nanchu together, taken in her sophomore year; she had never had the heart to throw it away.

She crouched down to pick up the photo, but a distinctively boned hand beat her to it.

Zhang Zixi looked up and smiled, “Are you here to see me off?”

Qiao Nanchu gazed at the photo, reciting the police number on the girl’s uniform, “14Z096.” He lifted his gaze to Zhang Zixi, saying, “I’m here to arrest you.”

14Z096 was Zhang Zixi’s number when she was at the police academy.

Her expression showed surprise for a moment, then returned to normal, “Arrest me?”

Qiao Nanchu pulled out handcuffs from his pocket, giving them a shake, “Mhm, to arrest you.”

She was calm and composed, “On what charges?”

He too remained stoic, “Trafficking narcotics.”

“Do you have evidence?”

The handcuffs in Qiao Nanchu’s hand clinked and rattled but even at this confrontational encounter, his eyes revealed no turmoil as he said plainly, “That car of yours I rear-ended is now at the police station.” He paced his words, “The dashcam recorded your meeting with Hua Jun.”

If not for the dashcam footage, he would have arrested her sooner.

Zhang Zixi’s countenance finally shifted, “Did you do it on purpose?” To rear-end her on purpose, to have her tow the car, to send her off, and yes, to have her eavesdrop.

Qiao Nanchu quirked an eyebrow, “Otherwise? You think my driving is that bad?”

She laughed, finding it absurd.

He stood up straight, his tone becoming serious, “Zhang Zixi, you are suspected of being involved in a gang smuggling, trafficking, transporting, and manufacturing narcotics. I am arresting you now. You can resist, and if you do, I’ll add obstructing official duty to your charges.” He let go, and one end of the handcuffs fell from his palm, he asked, “Planning to run?”