Not long after Tang You left, a middle-aged woman came out from the back room of the store, muttering, "What did you eat for lunch? I've been having a stomachache..."
Zhou Qinyao was wiping his shoes with paper. When he saw her, he took the initiative to greet her, "Auntie Xian."
The owner of the small shop was the fairy aunt he mentioned. She had just gone to the toilet. Huaishu Hutong was full of old neighbors, so it didn't matter if she walked away for a while. He didn't expect that someone outside would come to buy things today.
Auntie Xian looked at the money and soy sauce on the counter and asked, "Qin Yao, you want to buy soy sauce?"
Zhou Qinyao was about to speak when he suddenly saw a quarrel among the children playing in the distance. His face changed slightly and he simply replied, "A girl I don't know bought ten bottles of soy sauce and left five bottles here. You can keep them for now."
After saying that, he immediately walked towards the place where the dispute took place.
In the open space, a boy of about 13 or 14 pointed at a boy of about the same age and said, "Song Xiaoyang, did you know that your airplane pierced my neck? Why are you so stupid? Do you know how to play?"
The accused boy was holding a remote control in his hand, his face flushed, and he scratched his head in bewilderment. When he saw Zhou Qinyao coming, he went up to him aggrievedly and eagerly to explain:
"Brother Yao, I, I didn't mean it."
Several children nearby started to complain: "Brother Yao, Song Xiaoyang just flew the plane over me as well."
"And you hit my leg!"
"It's okay." Zhou Qinyao said calmly, hugged the frightened Song Xiaoyang, and whispered to comfort him: "It's okay, don't be afraid."
Then he scolded a few naughty kids: "You complained about Xiaoyang being noisy before, but now that Xiaoyang is on silent mode, why are you still making so much trouble?"
His voice was so powerful that all the children who had been chattering just now shut up.
Because everyone knows that Song Xiaoyang is a congenitally retarded child. Although he is about the same age as them, his behavioral and thinking abilities are only at the level of a five or six-year-old child.
The conflicts among the children came and went quickly. Zhou Qinyao asked Song Xiaoyang to apologize, and in the blink of an eye, a group of children ran off to play other things happily again.
Song Xiaoyang hung his head, unhappy: "Brother Yao, I, I am so stupid."
Zhou Qinyao bent down and scratched his head patiently: "Xiaoyang is not stupid. In fact, my brother doesn't even know how to fly a remote control plane."
"Really?" The boy smiled again.
"Really." Zhou Qinyao showed a rare gentle look: "Let's go back and eat."
Zhou Qinyao lives in a courtyard in Huaishu Hutong. Xiaoyang's grandmother is the owner of the courtyard. Her husband has passed away, and her daughter is working in another place. She is the only one with her grandson in the huge courtyard, which is very lonely.
It wasn't until two years ago when Zhou Qinyao rented one of the rooms that the courtyard began to come alive.
Over there, Tang You ran home with five bottles of soy sauce.
Aunt Rong saw that the girl looked strange, so she wiped her hands on her apron and came out, looking her up and down: "Miss, are you okay?"
Then she looked at the soy sauce in the girl's arms in astonishment: "Why did you buy so much?"
Tang You was confused and said casually, "… there is a promotion at the supermarket."
She put the soy sauce away and ran upstairs: "Call me when you're ready to eat."
Aunt Rong: “…”
After returning to the bedroom, Tang You lay on the bed for a long time, but his heartbeat did not calm down.
This was the first time in her life that she encountered such a dirty and disgusting thing, but she could do nothing except push the scoundrel and step on him.
It’s too frustrating…
That's why she couldn't utter a word just now, and why her mind seemed to be blank when they were about to quarrel.
She should have jumped up and pointed at his nose and cursed him. It would have been better if the people around could gather around and hear him so as to warn everyone.
But she was really useless and just stepped on him.
Tang You turned over and lay on the bed in annoyance, staring blankly at the ceiling, regretting that he had performed so poorly just now, and had given the gangster an advantage.
This depressed mood continued until after lunch. Tang You was listless and forced himself to practice the piano, but what happened at noon kept repeating in his mind and refused to give up.
Tang You had seen many cases of sexual harassment on the Internet before. Many girls did not dare to speak out for the sake of face or because they were timid, which made these rampant criminals become more arrogant.
Tang You suddenly felt that he couldn't and shouldn't just let this matter go.
She didn't want to be that silent, indulgent person.
At noon, she saw many girls aged 13 or 14 in that alley, all of them were in their prime. If that hooligan was lurking in the simple alley, who knows how many more innocent girls would be poisoned.
The more Tang You thought about it, the angrier he became, and the melody in his hands became more and more disorganized.
She simply put down the bow, thought seriously, and felt that she should do something.
But she was young and couldn't fight or swear. The alley was old and there were no cameras or anything like that. If she called the police, there would be no evidence and her words alone would not prove anything.
What should I do
Tang You stared at the strings in a daze, lost in thought for a long time, until Aunt Rong came up and called her:
"Miss, have you printed out your transfer file? You need to bring it with you when you register tomorrow!"
Tang You was about to reply that she had already printed it out, but just as this sentence flashed through her mind, she suddenly remembered something and sat up straight.
A thought quickly passed through my mind and slowly took shape.
Tang You's eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth pursed up excitedly. He stood up and took out his mobile phone and wallet:
“I’ll go print it now.”
Following Fang Lai's instructions, Aunt Rong immediately contacted the driver to prepare the car, but Tang You didn't want her to know the plan in her mind, so she sneaked out alone while she was on the phone.
After walking along Huaishu Street for a while, I found a printing shop on the first floor of a large supermarket at the entrance of the street.
Tang You stood at the door and thought quietly for a few seconds. After confirming again and again, he mustered up the courage to walk in.
"Hello, I want to print something."
Five minutes later, Tang You crossed the road with the finished product.
What she was about to do made her nervous, full of unknowns and excitement, a feeling she had never experienced before.
She headed straight for Huaishu Hutong, thinking as she walked that when she got to the store she would say she was there to take back the remaining five bottles of soy sauce.
Then, wait for the opportunity to strike...
Tang You knew that her plan was very naive, but if her naivety could only remind one girl, it would be worth it.
At 1:30 in the afternoon, there were not many people in Huaishu Hutong. Everyone was taking a nap at this time, so it was very quiet.
When he was almost at the door of the small shop, Tang You stopped and took several deep breaths.
—Don’t be afraid, I’m here to get the soy sauce, I paid for it.
After repeating this psychological suggestion several times, she slowly walked over.
Tang You's heart was about to jump out of her throat when she thought about seeing that lecherous hooligan again. She tried her best to suppress her fear and walked to the counter with all her courage, but she unexpectedly found out -
Why did the boss change
Sitting at the counter, watching TV and eating melon seeds, was a middle-aged woman.
Auntie Xian saw a strange little girl coming, threw the melon seeds aside, stood up and greeted: "What would you like to order, little girl?"
Tang You was stunned by this accident. His lips moved and he suddenly saw five bottles of soy sauce neatly placed in a corner of the counter.
I dropped it at noon.
She was at a loss for words and had to point at the soy sauce: "Uh, I came here to get this."
"Oh, it's you." Aunt Xian reacted immediately and enthusiastically pulled open a plastic bag from the counter to help pack it.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Tang You asked tentatively: "Where is the boss at noon?"
Auntie Xian smiled cheerfully: "I wasn't here at noon, so the neighbors helped to look after the place. There were no outsiders here!"
"… "
It turns out that gangster was not the boss.
Tang You said thank you, turned around and left with the soy sauce.
Things didn't go as she expected. Now she didn't know the man's name or where he lived. There were so many households in the alley, and she couldn't knock on every door.
Tang You was a little depressed and walked along the wall with his head down.
At this moment, a burst of engine sound came from far away, like a rolling wind, whistling from the entrance of the alley, and then a black shadow flashed quickly past Tang You.
Tang You's hair was even blown up a bit.
She turned her head subconsciously and saw a man on a motorcycle parked in front of the small shop. He turned off the engine, put one foot on the ground, and casually stepped down from the motorcycle with his long legs.
The back figure looks strangely familiar.
When the man took off his helmet, Tang You immediately understood the reason for this familiar feeling.
It was the bastard who touched her butt!
He changed his clothes and put on a cool black leather jacket, with a helmet casually hung on the car. He stopped in front of the small shop for a few minutes, and Tang You saw the proprietress handing him a pack of cigarettes.
After buying the cigarettes, the man returned to the car, started the car, and prepared to leave.
When the person was about to leave, Tang You suddenly remembered the purpose of his visit and immediately followed him.
The man's motorcycle back to the alley was not driving very fast, but even if it slowed down, Tang You could only catch up with his back even if she ran. She held the soy sauce in one hand and took out the printed paper in the other, ready at all times.
Tang You imagined a counterattack like this—
Follow the man, stick the paper on his back when he is not paying attention, and wait for him to walk through the streets. If there is no such opportunity, you can also create one, such as pretending to bump into him accidentally, stick the paper on him while he is in chaos, and then run away. Anyway, you have used the double-sided tape with the best adhesion.
However, the reality is—
Tang You followed the man's motorcycle with all the strength of a 800-meter long-distance runner, and had to be careful not to be discovered by him. As a result, she took many turns and not only did she lose the man, but she also got lost.
Huaishu Hutong is not very big, but it is very complicated and intricate. If you don’t live here, it’s easy to be confused and doubt your life.
Tang You had no time to chase the man at this time. She stood at a crossroads, feeling a little confused.
Is this a maze? How come after walking for ten minutes, I'm back to square one?!
Tang You looked around and found that there was a road on the right that he had not tried.
So she immediately walked in that direction, but when she entered, she found that there was a wall at the end of the alley.
It's a dead end.
"… "
Tang You scratched her hair in frustration, and turned around with her head down, but as she turned around, she found that there was a man at the alley less than three meters in front of her.
The man leaned lazily against the wall, pressed the lighter with one hand, and lit the cigarette in his mouth. The cigarette butt turned scarlet instantly, and gray-white smoke floated in the air.
It was faint, with a hint of weirdness, blurring the line of sight between the two people.
Tang You froze instantly.
Where did he come from
Is he a ghost? ! ! !
Afraid that she would scream out in fright, Tang You quickly covered her mouth with her hands. But by the time she realized that there was still a piece of paper in her hand, the paper had already flown into the air, floating a few meters in the breeze, and finally -
It landed at the man's feet with a swagger.
"… "
Finished.
Tang You stared at the paper on the ground with his mouth tightly closed, not daring to speak or even move.
The air was frozen and the atmosphere was almost suffocating.
Zhou Qinyao blew out a smoke ring and looked at her casually. He saw that the girl was nervous, like a frightened little quail, and he found it funny.
He tilted his head and asked with interest:
"Soy Sauce Girl, are you following me?"