Половины жизни, посвященной музыке и макияжу

Глава 28

As soon as they stepped into the backyard of the government office, Qingzi rushed over and, without saying a word, grabbed Xiao Duan's sleeve and pulled him outside. "What's wrong?" Xiao Duan grabbed Qingzi's arm back. "Don't panic. Has something happened to Xiao Hui?"

Qingzi's eyes welled up with tears, but she didn't answer. She just grabbed Xiaoduan and tried to run outside. The two people were still standing there; if she said anything, she would be completely exposed! As the two were struggling, they heard a lazy voice from not far away: "Xingzhi, Zhao Ting, long time no see. Did you miss me?"

Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun turned around at the sound, and in the blink of an eye, the man was already in front of them. He raised his hand and patted Zhao Ting's shoulder, but Zhao Ting shrugged and dodged, standing a good ten feet away with a cold expression as he looked at the newcomer. The beautiful young man in an indigo satin robe didn't seem to care, a carefree smile playing on his lips, and then put his hand on Zhan Yun's shoulder: "Xingzhi is so considerate!"

Zhan Yun tapped the man's hand with his folding fan and smiled slightly, "Always so unserious." Zhou Yufei hissed and immediately withdrew his elbow, shaking his hand. Hitting that pressure point was very painful!

"Yiran, this is the young master Duan you've been talking about challenging. Duan, this is Zhou Yufei. The three of us used to investigate cases together." Zhan Yun said, glancing at Zhou Yufei. But before he could finish speaking, young master Zhou had already strode towards where Duan was standing.

Xiao Duan's face darkened, and he shoved the brocade box into Qing Zi's arms. Then, he shielded her behind him with his arm. Zhou Yufei walked up to the two of them, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Young Master Duan?"

Before Xiao Duan could answer, Zhou Yufei struck at Xiao Duan's chest with his palm. Xiao Duan grabbed Qingzi and dodged, pushing her towards Zhao Ting's direction at the same time: "Don't come any closer." Before Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun could react, the two started fighting in the backyard of the government office.

Unlike his previous encounter with Zhan Yun, where Zhan Yun only wanted to capture him, Zhou Yufei now played like a cat chasing a mouse, teasing Xiao Duan as he ran around the yard, his palm strikes never hitting vital points. Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun watched in bewilderment, while Qing Zi was jumping up and down in frustration. This bastard! This wasn't a fight; he was clearly harassing Xiao Luo!

Zhou Yufei swung his large hand, about to touch Xiao Duan's cheek. Xiao Duan's face darkened as she dodged to the side, her slender waist being pulled into his arms: "Tsk tsk, your slender waist is so delicate, you could hardly wrap your hands around it!"

Xiao Duan's face turned pale with anger. Using Zhou Yufei's arm as a springboard, she turned and raised her hand to slap Zhou Yufei's cheek. Her wrist was firmly gripped, and with a sudden pull from the large hand still behind her waist, their upper bodies were pressed together without a gap, they could even feel each other's heartbeats. Xiao Duan's phoenix eyes stared coldly at the person before her, their gaze icy and intense. Zhou Yufei's peach blossom eyes flickered, a wicked smile playing on his lips: "These eyes, once seen, will never be forgotten." As he spoke, his lips moved closer, and he gently blew a breath near the corner of Xiao Duan's eye: "You think you can fool everyone by putting on a red mole to divert attention?"

Over the years, Xiao Duan had wandered the martial world alone, naturally suffering a lot. However, he had always been cautious and rarely interacted with others. Most men wouldn't even let him get close, so he had never been treated so lightly! People say even a rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone Xiao Duan. If he was really provoked, he would fight to the death! Xiao Duan gritted his teeth and twisted his wrist with the force of Zhou Yufei's grip. With a "crack," Zhou Yufei loosened his grip and stared incredulously at the woman in his arms with his peach blossom eyes. Xiao Duan pushed with all his might with his right hand, forcing Zhou Yufei to stumble back several steps, his handsome face still showing that stunned expression.

Three people rushed over from a short distance away. Qingzi saw that Xiao Duan was supporting his other arm with one hand, clearly having broken his wrist. His face was deathly pale, and a thin layer of sweat had formed on his forehead. He looked like he couldn't even stand up. Tears streaming down her face, she roared at Zhou Yufei, "You surnamed Zhou! I'll fight you to the death today!" With that, she grabbed a foot-long short knife from her waist, threw the sheath on the ground, and swung the knife at Zhou Yufei.

Zhou Yufei knew he'd gone too far this time, so he only defended and retreated while fighting. Qingzi, on the other hand, had long been desperate and was recklessly slashing at vital points. At this moment, the people from the government office gradually came out. Zhan Yun was so shocked that he almost dropped his fan. He carefully supported Xiao Duan's elbow: "Xiao Duan, let's go inside first. Let me help you with your wrist..."

On the other side, Zhao Ting had already placed a large hand on Xiao Duan's waist, and the two were about to lead Xiao Duan into the house while they were talking. Li Qinglan, Tao Hanzhi, Jiang Cheng and others also gathered around, and Chu Hui stood to the side not knowing what to do, her eyes reddening with anxiety: "Brother Duan."

"Let go!" Xiao Duan said, holding his breath, and then gritted his teeth and grabbed Chu Hui's hand, saying slowly and deliberately, "Tell her to stop hitting me and come help me up."

Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun were initially disoriented when they saw the two start fighting. After regaining their senses, they realized Zhou Yufei wasn't using his full strength, as if he were just playing around. Although the scene of their struggle was rather bizarre and awkward, they didn't intervene. But then, in the blink of an eye, they stopped. Xiao Duan shoved Zhou Yufei, sending him stumbling back several steps. Looking closer, they saw that Xiao Duan's wrist was broken, and Zhou Yufei's expression was clearly bewildered. Although they still didn't understand what had happened, it was obvious their brother was in the wrong. Xiao Duan's cold refusal to let them help him left them feeling awkward. They awkwardly withdrew their hands and stood to the side, unsure what to do.

Over there, Zhou Yufei was being chased and slashed by Qingzi, unable to fight back. Soon his hair was disheveled, and his clothes had several tears, though no blood was seen, he looked quite disheveled. Chu Hui shouted several times that Brother Duan had stopped the fighting, and only then did Qingzi gradually come to her senses, stop her attack, slam her knife into the ground, spit out a curse, and turn to run over.

Qingzi had done wrist-breaking before, following her master to treat patients and injuries—these were basic tasks. But today, when it came to Xiao Duan, Qingzi felt weak in the knees and her whole body went limp; she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Seeing Qingzi's furrowed brows and backward-leaning posture, Xiao Duan understood what was going on. He smirked and said in a hoarse voice, "If you don't do it soon, my wrist will be ruined. Be careful, or your master will give you a good whipping when we get back."

Upon hearing this, Qingzi burst into tears: "I deserve to be whipped for not taking good care of you!"

Xiao Duan frowned: "What nonsense are you talking about! This has nothing to do with you—" Before Xiao Duan could finish speaking, Qing Zi had already let go. Putting her wrist back on hurt even more than when it was twisted! Xiao Duan lowered his head and remained silent for a long time, which frightened Qing Zi so much that she quickly reached out and cupped Xiao Duan's cheeks, tears streaming down her face: "Xiao Luo, are you alright? Don't scare me! Did I not put it back properly? You, you, you…"

Xiao Duan slowly exhaled and said in a hoarse voice, "It's nothing."

Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief. Li Qinglan sat down, stroked his beard, and looked at Zhou Yufei: "Young Master Zhou, I know you are a distinguished guest from the capital, and have a close relationship with Young Master Zhao and Young Master Zhan. But Xiao Duan is also helping our Hangzhou Prefecture investigate cases. Your presence today..."

"Lord Li," Xiao Duan interrupted Li Qinglan in time, "I twisted my wrist myself, it has nothing to do with Young Master Zhou. After we invite the people from the Zhu family over and sort out the case, I'll take my leave."

He stood up, gave a slight bow, and said, "Excuse me." Then he turned and left the room. Qingzi followed closely behind, quickly taking two steps to support Xiaoduan's arm, while calling out loudly, "Xiaohui, come with me!"

Li Qinglan naturally knew that Duan's seemingly heartless words were actually an attempt to avoid causing trouble for the Hangzhou government. These three men were all wealthy and powerful, clearly not to be offended. Li Qinglan sighed, exchanged a glance with Tao Hanzhi, and, with perfect understanding, rose one after the other. After exchanging a few more polite words with the three, they each returned to their rooms.

Author's Note: So, Zhanzhan and Tingting's fans will soon find out that Xiaoduan is a girl, but seeing the beauty again is something that will happen a long time later~

The next chapter will analyze the case and, incidentally, conclude this volume. Volume Three: Wanliu Manor. Stay tuned!

We pray to the Great God, holding Little Qing's hand together! Great God JJ, please bless Little Xue Luo! I'm being very, very diligent!

29

Chapter Ten: The Truth • Farewell...

Qingzi sent Chu Hui away, letting him bring the food from the kitchen. Then she bolted the door, turned her back, and complained to Xiao Duan: "Xiao Luo, with your temper! You twisted your wrist, and it won't be fully healed for two or three months. If you're not careful and it becomes a chronic condition, you'll easily sprain your wrist again..." As she spoke, Qingzi pouted and sat down by the bed. Her cat-like eyes were moist, with tears glistening in them.

Xiao Duan took off his shoes, leaned against the headboard, propped one leg up and put his wrist on it, and sighed softly: "I was careless. My face was covered with a veil at the time, and I had a red mole on the corner of my eye. I had been looking at him for almost two months, but I didn't expect him to recognize me at a glance."

"There's not a single good person in the Zhou family!" Qingzi gritted her teeth. "His parents didn't care about any friendship back then, leaving him to die and kicking him when he was down. And Zhou Yufei came right up to you and started touching you inappropriately. They're a whole family of scoundrels!"

Xiao Duan curled his lips and said in a low voice, "Throughout history, there have been many who add flowers to brocade, but few who offer charcoal in the snow. What the Zhou family did can't be considered wrong."

Qingzi's eyes were misty, and not wanting Xiaoduan to see her expression, she turned her back, pulled a bundle out from under the bed, and fumbled for a medicine bottle: "Does your wrist still hurt?"

"It's alright," Xiao Duan said calmly.

Qingzi walked to the table, brought over a glass of water, and handed Xiaoduan two pills, her voice slightly nasal: "Take these first. I'll apply some more medicine for you."

Xiao Duan did as she was told. Qing Zi put the cup back on the table, lifted Xiao Duan's left arm, and rolled up her wide sleeve. She saw that the bracelet had slipped down to almost her elbow, her slender white wrist was red and swollen, and her hand was trembling uncontrollably. Qing Zi didn't look up. She scooped some semi-transparent ointment from the small box and gently applied it to the red and swollen area. She sniffed softly, and large tears "plop" onto Xiao Duan's light blue clothes, quickly spreading into a water stain.

Xiao Duan sighed and said softly, "Don't do that. In that situation just now, if I hadn't broken his wrist, Zhou Yufei might have blurted out that I was dressed as a man. It wouldn't matter if those two found out, but if the officials found out, how would I ever be able to face them again..."

Qingzi scooped out a small piece of ointment and gently applied it to Xiao Duan's wrist: "I know. I just feel that Xiao Luo is suffering too much..." The last three words were mumbled by Qingzi, but since the two had been playing together since childhood and had known each other for almost ten years, Xiao Duan could guess what she was going to say.

Xiao Duan smiled faintly and reached out his right hand to stroke Qingzi's hair: "We've survived the hardest times, so what's this?"

Chu Hui's voice came from outside the door. Qingzi put away the medicine box and got up to open the door.

The three of them ate together in Xiao Duan's room. Xiao Duan swallowed his food and glanced at Chu Hui sitting opposite him: "How have you been feeling these past few days with Brother Jiang?"

Chu Hui put down her chopsticks, wiped her hands on the hem of her clothes, took out a booklet from her bosom, and handed it to Xiao Duan with both hands: "These are Mr. Jiang's notes. There are fifteen in total, and I haven't finished reading the first one yet."

Xiao Duan smirked: "Take it. It seems Brother Jiang is quite satisfied with your apprentice."

Chu Hui put the book away, glanced at Qing Zi, and said in a low voice, "Mr. Jiang didn't say he would take me as his apprentice."

Xiao Duan picked up his cup and took a sip of water: "Brother Jiang is willing to show you his notes because he intends to mentor you. Otherwise, do you think just anyone can see these things? If you really want to work in this line of work, stay in Hangzhou and learn properly from Brother Jiang."

"But, but aren't we leaving in the next couple of days?" Chu Hui asked cautiously.

"It's me and Xiaolu who's leaving. You stay here and learn properly from that blockhead!" Qingzi rolled her eyes and pouted. "I brought you out here to broaden your horizons. Did you really think I wanted to make you my apprentice?"