No te apoyes en la barandilla oeste para retener el claro otoño

Capítulo 15

Did she say what game it was?

"I don't know. She didn't say, bro. Women in this line of work don't talk much to others. They only tell their best friends a fraction of what they know. But she and you are on good terms. She gave you the key to the room. She told me that nobody knows she lives here."

"This is my first time here too. I spent ages looking for her on this street because she only said she lived upstairs from a restaurant, but didn't give me the exact address."

"You see? I've seen it all before." The boss smiled.

Did she say when she would be back?

"She said she was going out of town, but didn't say when she'd be back," the boss said indifferently, smoking a cigarette. "I thought she'd be back in a week, but who knew she'd be gone for a month. Who knows where she went? If it weren't for the fact that she'd been paying rent until the end of this month, I would have given up on her long ago. Don't let my shabby place fool you, there are still quite a few people who want to rent it. Someone even came to ask about it yesterday."

"I noticed her clothes are gone. Did she take them all with her?"

"Yes, I took two suitcases with me when I left."

But when Jian Dongping saw her, her hands were empty. Where did the suitcase go?

"Besides renting this place from you, does she have any other accommodation?"

"have no idea."

"She said she was going to another city, so did she mention what mode of transportation she would be using? For example, train, plane, or long-distance bus? What kind of bus or train?

She said she had to catch a train that night, but didn't say exactly where she was going. She said she was going south, but I guessed it was Guangzhou.

"Why Guangzhou?" Jian Dongping asked, somewhat surprised.

"Because in the two days before she left, she kept following me around asking me about Guangzhou, like hotels, restaurants, how to get a taxi, damn it, she asked about everything. It's not surprising, I used to do business in Guangzhou, and I mentioned it to her." The restaurant owner put his left foot on his right leg and leisurely smoked a cigarette.

"So, does Lili have a computer?" Jian Dongping asked a different question.

"A computer? Where would she get a computer? If she wants to use a computer, she goes to the small street next door. There are two internet cafes there. I once saw her using the computer at that 'Little Bee' cafe."

"She usually uses the computer in the morning. Does the internet cafe open so early?" Jian Dongping remembered that Zhou Jin always contacted him in the morning.

"The internet cafes around here are open all night, but there are fewer people using the computers in the morning. Go ask at 'Little Bee,' the owner there seems to know her quite well, he even went to Jinsheng to support her." The restaurant owner said, pointing outside with the hand holding a cigarette, "It's in Honey Alley. Just walk out and turn left, and you'll get there."

Jian Dongping sensed that the restaurant owner was about to kick him out, so he stood up. Actually, he also wanted to leave this greasy and dirty little eatery as soon as possible.

"I've moved the rest of Zhou Jin's things out of her room so you can rent it to someone else. I'll leave you my phone number; if she comes back or contacts you, ask her to call me. Okay?" Jian Dongping handed a business card to the restaurant owner.

"Jian Dongping, Deputy Director of the Editorial Department, *Xin* Weekly." Cai Fendian, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, read the words on the business card, then waved it and said, "Okay, I got it. I'll let you know when the time comes."

According to the restaurant owner, Zhou Jin likely carried two large suitcases and boarded a train bound for Guangzhou.

But did she really leave? If she caught the train, she should at least have called him back. She had promised to submit her manuscript, and she had been so eager to see her words in print. When her article was first published, she even called to express her gratitude.

"I saw it, that's great! Thank you, Editor Jian!...Wow, that's amazing. I finally got one too..." Jian Dongping still clearly remembered her voice on the phone; it was the excitement of a child receiving a lollipop. She was truly overjoyed, thanking him profusely. The next day, he even received a gift from her—a steaming hot Taiwanese roasted pork rice dumpling. Later, when Xiao Rouyuan Lingge came over, he licked the rice dumpling leaves and kept praising how delicious it was. When Zhou Jin first started writing for him, she promised she wouldn't be late. In fact, before her disappearance, she had never been late; she had even given him several extra articles to choose from. Would someone like Zhou Jin really just leave without a word? It was hard to say. Jian Dongping realized he didn't understand Zhou Jin at all.

But what if she missed that train?

Is she still with her suitcase? If so, where are they?

If she separated from her suitcase, then where did the suitcase go?

Jian Dongping thought for a moment, and the two most likely places were the luggage storage at the train station and a small hotel near the station. Of course, it was also possible that she had left her suitcase with a friend, but would someone as wary as her really trust someone so much? Unless this friend had a very special relationship with her.

She left her suitcase near the train station, then dressed in men's clothing and headed to Xincheng Road for a date with a stranger. Recall what she said on May 7th? "I was supposed to just transfer to bus 57 at the same stop, but when I got there I found the bus stop for 57 had moved." Jian Dongping couldn't remember exactly what she said, but he clearly remembered that she was taking bus 57 at the same stop.

So Jian Dongping decided to go to two places next: the Little Bee Internet Cafe in Honey Alley and the convenience store where he had met Zhou Jin before. He wanted to see if there was a bus to the train station from the original No. 57 bus stop. He should go to the Little Bee Internet Cafe first.

The internet cafe owner provided him with three valuable clues: First, Zhou Jin had mentioned wanting to go to Guangzhou, saying she had never been there before. Second, the internet cafe had been closed for five days during the long holiday and only reopened on the 6th. Zhou Jin had gone to the internet cafe on the morning of May 7th to search for hotel and transportation information for Guangzhou. Third, Zhou Jin mentioned that she had worked as a temporary nanny for a wealthy family for a week some time ago, but did not mention which family it was.

Jian Dongping lingered at the Little Bee Internet Cafe for about 20 minutes when the phone rang. It was Ling Ge.

"Have you arrived yet?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm at the convenience store at No. 2 Wangchun Road. Where are you?" Ling Ge still seemed upset. He understood her; how embarrassing would it be to surrender first? Okay, brother's here to comfort you, little dumpling.

"Stay there and don't move, I'll be right there." He kept his tone steady.

He hung up the phone, said goodbye to the internet cafe owner, and hurried toward the convenience store a few dozen steps away. He was eager to see her, but once he spotted her in the distance, he immediately adjusted his pace to a leisurely stroll.

Ling Ge stood at the shop entrance waiting for him. Today, she wasn't wearing her hair in a braid; her thick, black hair cascaded over her shoulders, giving her a rather charming look. What was wrong? Was she in such a bad mood that she couldn't even be bothered to braid her hair? He couldn't help but laugh at the thought.

Ling Ge was wearing a rather unfashionable red plaid coat, her hands in her pockets. When she saw him walking over, she seemed to regain her spirits, which had been etched on her face.

"Ling Ge. You're here." He walked up to her and greeted her first.

“I brought the things,” she said calmly, taking a stack of photocopies from her bag and handing them to him, then asked curtly, “Where’s my account book?”

“He’s in the car,” he said, and quickly walked in front of her. She immediately followed.

They walked together to the other side of the road, where his car was parked in a small open space. He opened the car door, took a small ledger out of his bag, and handed it to her.

When she reached out to take his hand, he wanted to take it, but he held back. He didn't want to do something meaningless.

“The sleeping bag is in the back of the truck; it’s quite bulky. Let me take it back for you,” he said.

"No need, I'll take it myself," she said softly.

He gazed at her for a moment, then said quietly, "Ling Ge, I'm only taking you home because I understand you're a woman, not because I'm giving you any special treatment. If you were my female colleague, I would have done the same. I remember we've broken off our friendship, I remember. I have a very good memory."

Ling Ge looked up at him and made an indifferent expression.

"Okay then," she said.

Author: Ren_lai_feng Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:22:00

Speculation: Star's update is the first comment (or second comment) @@

Author: lymh1218 Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:23:00

Author: Pig on a Wooden Board Reply Date: 2008-01-21 10:31:00

Tencent seems to treat me very well; I get to vote for Butterfly quite a few times every day—I haven't counted, but it's probably around 20 votes! But Sina seems to look down on my character…

My nails are cracked, and the left side of my mouth is split too. Even worse, my husband cracked the right side last night… Now I look like an idiot; when I try to laugh, my mouth always splits halfway before my face twitches…

If the corner of your mouth is cracked, taking some vitamin B2 and vitamin C is very effective. It should heal in about 3 or 4 days. Don't take too much, but it's good to keep some on hand.

Author: Ren_lai_feng Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:23:00

It was me! Hahaha, don't kick me!

Author: Sui Feng Qian Ru Ye Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:24:00

Seriously? How are you going to count the replies? This is so inconvenient...

In this cold weather, a hot milk tea would be even better.

Author: Because I'm not insecure Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:24:00

"I really wish someone would pursue this scatterbrained girl, to make Jian jealous."

Month of Strong Agreement

Jane, stop being so peacock-like, okay? That self-important attitude is really annoying.

Author: julyrem Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:24:00

I'm off to work.

Author: Night Lemon Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:24:00

Is something wrong with me? There have been no messages since 11:05?

Author: Never Marry Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:25:00

It's truly a case of the emperor not being worried, but the eunuchs being anxious to death!

Author: Fat Dudu Zuoweimen Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:25:00

Wow, Sweetie, so you're a woman after all!!!

Author: Sui Feng Qian Ru Ye Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:26:00

Look, I listed it for a price and someone snatched the sofa. They must be tired of living...

Author: I love blue nail polish Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:26:00

He made a hasty escape to urinate.

Author: julyrem Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:26:00

But I'm also thinking about the 2:30 update.

Author: Garlic Sour Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:26:00

Comrade Jian is so obsessed with saving face, he's suffering for it! Would it kill him to tell the truth? Let's torture him!

Author: Zi Xiaoling'er Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:27:00

If the sofa were mine... I would hug everyone to sit on it...

Author: HappyWaitingForUpdate48 Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:27:00

Finally, we get to see our little dumpling! I wish there was another update; then we could see more of Jian Ling's story today, which I've been looking forward to for days!

Author: Sunny Days, Good Mood Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:27:00

I wrote a whole bunch of stuff, but after I finished, I found the atmosphere here had returned to normal. So, I won't say any more. Keep up the good work!

Author: I love blue nail polish Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:28:00

I'm taking prenatal vitamins; I don't dare take other vitamins randomly, for fear of overdosing.

Thank you to the author: lymh1218. *kiss*

Author: Jona Mikey Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:28:00

It's so strange, I can't find Momo's post on Ghost Talk anymore. I clicked on Momo's sub-forum topic but the post didn't appear. I only found it after Ling'er sent it to me. What's going on? Have any of you encountered this situation?

Author: My Favorite Murong Ziying Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:28:00

So many people are scrambling for the first comment?

Author: Fallen Flowers_Silent Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:29:00

Has another page been turned?

Author: Zi Xiaoling'er Reply Date: 2008-01-21 14:29:00

My pages... My sofa... My dreams...

It's all over...