Special District 9 Chapter 25: Slippery Old Loach

Inside Residence 88.

Shortly after Tiger made his call, Qin Yu’s phone rang. He took a look at the callee, and after seeing that it was Yuan Ke’s number, he immediately walked into his own house before receiving it.

“Hello, Platoon Commander Yuan?”

“What happened?”

“Aiyo, sorry to have alarmed you over such a minor matter.” The earlier arrogance that Qin Yu had displayed while beating up Tiger had vanished without a trace, and it was replaced by a fawning expression instead. “Are those people in my residence your friends?”

“They can be considered my friends,” Yuan Ke replied. “They are acquainted with my older brother. They heard that you are from the Police Bureau too, so they gave a call to me.”

“Ah, so it’s a huge misunderstanding then!” Qin Yu lied without the slightest quiver in his tone. He knew that Tiger was acquainted with Yuan Ke all along after hearing the conversation between him and Lin Nianlei.

“How did you end up attacking him?”

“I didn’t intend to do it either.” Qin Yu was the type to think of an escape route before getting into anything. He spoke with a clear flow of logic in his mind, “The woman who your friends were going to deal with is the one who has been kidnapped a while back.”

Yuan Ke was slightly taken aback to hear that. “The one who was kidnapped?”

“Yeah, the one who works in the internet radio station. She lives in the same residence as me. She was crying and shouting earlier, so I had no choice but to come out to take a look. As you know, she seems to have some sort of background to her, or else Superintendent Li wouldn’t have sent her off personally the other day, “ Qin Yu explained with a wary tone.

“Since I have bumped into this matter, I thought that it wouldn’t do for me to turn a blind eye to it, or else it might spell trouble for our Police Bureau if this matter blows up. So, I tried to persuade your friends to let her go, but they lost their temper and drew their knives to threaten me. I didn’t know that they were your friends back then either, so I could only subdue them…”

“Do you know what kind of backing that woman has?” Yuan Ke asked with a frown.

“I’m not sure,” Qin Yu shook his head and replied. “However, I noticed that the one who came to fetch her the other day was a high-ranking staff in the media, and Superintendent Li also saw her off personally that day.”

“Ah, are you familiar with her?”

“…!” Without any hesitation, Qin Yu bragged, “Still okay, I’d say. We’re friends.”

“It seems like it’s really a misunderstanding then. Pass the phone over to Tiger, I’ll talk to him and have him leave,” Yuan Ke instructed. “Tell the woman that Tiger doesn’t know about her backing, so don’t let whatever that has happened today get to her. I’ll host a dinner soon for the two of them to meet up and clear up the air.”

“That’s not an issue. I’ll talk to her later on.”

“That’s all then. You can pass the phone now.”

“Give me a moment, Platoon Commander Yuan.” Qin Yu walked over to Tiger and passed the phone over to him, “He’s asking for you.”

Tiger was slightly surprised for a moment before picking up the phone. He talked to Yuan Ke for a moment before finally hanging up with a slightly dark expression on his face.

“Haha, it looks like we’re all on the same side after all. If you had said so earlier, I wouldn’t have been so impolite either,” Qin Yu told Tiger with a smile.

Tiger glared at Qin Yu with a stifled expression for a long while before bellowing in frustration, “You brat, this isn’t over yet.”

“Sorry about this, Brother Tiger. You didn’t manage to rip me apart in the end,” Qin Yu replied with a light chuckle.

Tiger clenched his jaws tightly together before finally tossing the phone back to Qin Yu. With a wave of his hand, he beckoned to his subordinates and said, “We’re leaving!”

Zhu Wei, who had been watching everything unfold by the side, was utterly confused by the situation. He turned at Qin Yu and asked, “How did you manage to settle it in the end? Are you related to Platoon Commander Yuan?”

“Hahaha, what do you mean by relationship?” Qin Yu replied with another question.

“Even Platoon Commander Yuan usually respects Tiger quite a bit! Yet, after the beating you gave him, you managed to settle it with just a simple call? I really thought that he would rip you apart earlier!” Zhu Wei was baffled by the turn of events.

Qin Yu pondered for a moment before leaning over to Zhu Wei’s ears and whispering solemnly, “To be frank with you, I have been keeping this a secret all this while. The Chief Executive of Special District 9 is actually my Second Uncle…”

“Screw you! There isn’t anything honest coming out of your mouth!” Zhu Wei rolled his eyes as he dropped the matter. “Do you have anything else for me? I’m leaving then.”

“You’ve worked hard,” Qin Yu patted Zhu Wei’s shoulder. “Go back and have a good sleep. You can come at noon tomorrow.”

“Looks like you still have a conscience,” Zhu Wei chuckled. “I’m going.”

“Byebye.”

“Un, byebye.”

After trading a few pleasantries, Zhu Wei left Residence 88.

By the doorway, Lin Nianlei tidied up her messy hair as she walked up to Qin Yu and said, “Sorry about that, I’ve troubled you again.”

Qin Yu looked at Lin Nianlei curiously and replied, “No, I really have to ask this. Are you actually someone sent by those on top to test my competency? Why does nothing good ever happen whenever I bump into you?”

Lin Nianlei sighed a little as she lamented with a pout, “I really have been on an unlucky streak these days…”

“Sigh. So, what happened between you and them?” Qin Yu asked.

Lin Nianlei took a look at Qin Yu’s attire before saying politely, “It’s cold outside. Let’s talk inside.”

“Let’s go then.”

Lin Nianlei opened her door and invited Qin Yu into her house.

Qin Yu took a look around and noted that the layout of the house was roughly the same as the one he rented. It was just that women tended to be a little more sensitive and delicate when it came to their living environment. The house was tidied up neatly, and there was a slight fragrance drifting in the air.

“What would you like to drink?”

“Is there anything else if your house other than plain water?” Qin Yu asked.

“Erk. There isn’t anything else.”

“Then there’s no need to be so courteous with me,” Qin Yu replied as he sat down on a chair. “Plain water will do.”

Lin Nianlei took off her coat before pouring out some warm water from her flask. Then, she began explaining her earlier plight, “I was going to do an episode on patients living in the slums, and during my investigation, I ended up learning about the medicine peddlers. The more I learned about them, the more disgusted I am by their actions. This bunch of people has no morals at all, valuing profits over the lives of others. As a member of the media, other than to make a living, it’s also my responsibility to alert the world of wrongdoings in society. So, I took a couple of their photos… and ended up getting into trouble, just as you have seen.”

Qin Yu took a sip of water before asking very frankly, “Aren’t you from a well-to-do family?”

“… I guess you can say so. Why did you ask that?” Lin Nianlei was a little taken aback.

“I thought that you really must have nothing better to do.”

“Bullshit!” Lin Nianlei immediately retorted upon hearing those words. “You are someone working to uphold the law, how can you say something so tasteless?”

“Heh, why are you such a simpleton? It’s just idle chatter, what are you getting so agitated for?” Qin Yu tilted his chin upward to gulp down the water in the cup before rising to his feet. “I can’t interfere in your affairs, but as fellow neighbors, I should still give you a word of advice. Hurry up and erase those photos that you have and switch to a more positive topic. Your report won’t change anything in Songjiang. It’ll only prick the annoyance of some people.”

“If the media isn’t able to prick anyone, what’s the value in its existence?” Lin Nianlei replied with her large, watery eyes. She had such a serious expression on her face that it looked a little cute.

“You really are naive lass…”

“Scram, you are the one who is naive!” Lin Nianlei snapped. “You have already scolded me twice since walking in here!”

“I’m leaving.” Qin Yu couldn’t be bothered to persuade Lin Nianlei, and he began walking out.

“Put down my cup.”

Qin Yu placed the cup back down before walking out of Lin Nianlei’s room with his hands tucked behind his back. As soon as he walked out, his expression turned solemn.

Simpleton Lin said that Tiger was a medicine peddler as well. Was it just a coincidence that Tiger and Yuan Ke were acquainted with one another?

Qin Yu felt that something was amiss, but he wasn’t able to fully make sense of this feeling yet.

…

In the hospital.

Sitting outside a consultation room, Tiger was holding onto a phone that was connected to Yuan Ke, and he howled, “I don’t get it. That fellow is an idiot without any background. Why are you covering for him?!”