Chapter 6: The Recording Studio

  The neon lights had just come on, and Tang Yi was strolling along the wide road in front of the county government building. As he passed by the Workers' Club, he noticed that the blackboard outside the video hall announced that today's screening would be Chow Yun-fat's "Wu Dang Lucky Star", an old film from '89. Chow Yun-fat's nonsensical style was just beginning to take shape back then, and Tang Yi's impression of the movie had already become fuzzy. Feeling bored out of his mind, he bought a ticket on a whim, only to discover that the video wouldn't be shown until 8:00 pm. As it happened, his stomach was growling with hunger, so he stepped into the small restaurant next to the club for lunch.

  There were not many people out for dinner at night, only three or four tables of guests. However, Tang Yi was surprised to find that the charming boss lady in the corner table was smiling and drinking with a fat man. The fat man's face was red from drinking, and he stumbled as he stood up, clearly having eaten and drunk his fill. Before leaving, he pinched the boss lady's arm and laughed: "Qijie, I'm off!" The boss lady just smiled and scolded him, seemingly flirting with him.

  Tang Yi didn't expect her to be not a decent person, furrowed his brow, sat down by the window, just as he sat down, a refreshing breeze floated over, and the boss's wife had already walked up to the table in high heels "clattering", sat down without any politeness, and smiled: "Want to go out and have some fun tonight? Don't want to attend the evening self-study?"

  Tang Yi had a hint of disgust in her heart towards her, but it wouldn't show on her face. She replied calmly, "No class."

  "Oh? Which school are you from? The First Middle School or the Second Middle School? They should both have evening self-study sessions, shouldn't they? Tell me, aren't you just playing hooky!" Boss Qi Jie was clearly a bit tipsy, her delicate face flushed red, and she spoke with an air of familiarity, as if she had a deep friendship with Tang Yi.

  Tang Yi said casually: "One of each." He picked up the menu and prepared to order.

  "In the first place... can't tell if you're a top student or not... my younger brother is about your age, but... but didn't have as good of luck as you..." Qi Jie lowered her head, and her voice gradually became softer. Tang Yi was puzzled, but then he discovered a teardrop falling from her face onto the table. Tang Yi was taken aback, thinking to himself: what's going on? Why is she crying all of a sudden?"

  "You...do you think I'm inferior?" Qi Jie raised her beautiful face, her red eyes staring at Tang Yi.

  Tang Yi didn't expect that women were born so sensitive, but what did it have to do with him whether he looked up to her or not? The two of them hadn't reached the point where their opinions could affect each other's mood yet, had they?

  "Never mind, I won't talk to you about it anymore. Today's bill is on me!" Qi Jie saw that Tang Yi had been silent for half a day, let out a sigh and stood up, walking out.

  Tang Yi ordered a plate of dumplings, dipping them in vinegar and eating with relish, when he heard the two waiters at the next table start discussing: "Wasn't that fat guy just now Sanzi's older brother? I heard he's from the Public Security Bureau."

  "Yes, the boss's younger brother's case is said to be very serious. Alas, it seems that the boss's flower cannot escape that bastard's palm!" The male waiter spoke with gritted teeth.

  "Unbelievable! The boss's wife is really going to be his mistress? Is...is this still the rule of law?" The female waitress looked incredulous.

  There are only two waiters in this small restaurant. One is collecting money at the counter, and the other is serving dishes. Now that there aren't many customers, they have time to chat idly.

  Tang Yi heard it clearly, but didn't know why he felt suffocated in his heart. There were too many injustices in this society, yet they couldn't be changed by one's own efforts.

  He stuffed the last few dumplings into his mouth, but they had already lost their flavor. Tang Yi settled the bill and left the small restaurant, gazing up at the sparse starry sky. His mood was somewhat downcast, and he let out a sigh as he headed towards the Workers' Club. He had only taken a few steps when he suddenly heard a woman's muffled sobbing coming from the dark corner of the wall where the streetlamp cast a shadow. Tang Yi took two steps forward and looked closely, and saw that it was Qi Jie with her back to him, her shoulders shaking in obvious sobs.

  Tang Yi hesitated for a moment, but finally walked over. Qijie was startled by the footsteps and turned around. Under the dim streetlight, her face was covered with tears. Seeing Tang Yi, Qijie quickly wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes and forced a smile: "Finished eating?"

  Her smile, like a pear blossom in the rain, was so similar to her mother's when they parted ways. Tang Yi suddenly felt his heart being heavily struck, and an idea suddenly emerged: I want to protect her! He couldn't change all the injustices, but why not take care of the ones he could see?

  "Are you going back to school?"

  "Hey, want to go watch a video with me? It's a comedy film by Stephen Chow, really funny!"

  Qijie shook her head, she obviously didn't have such an interest now.

  Tang Yi hesitated for a moment before saying, "Can you tell me about what happened between you, your younger brother, and Sanzi's older brother? I want to hear about it."

  Qijie looked at Tang Yi in surprise. Tang Yi said, "Keeping everything bottled up inside can easily lead to illness. Talking to someone about it is good for your health."

  Qijie smiled and said: "Do you want me to confide in you, a little kid? I don't even know your name."

  Tang Yidao said: "It's precisely because I'm young that you can speak freely without any pressure. As for names, I already know yours is Qi Jie, and mine is Tang Yidao."

  "Come on, go watch a movie and relax! Don't stay here feeling depressed."

  Looking at Tang Yicheng's sincere face, Qi Jie finally nodded.

  The video hall was pitch black, "Invincible Lucky Star" had already started showing, Tang Yi and Qi Jie found the most corner seat, and the adjacent seats were not occupied by anyone.

  The audience burst into laughter, and at that time, Stephen Chow's nonsense comedy opened up a new path for comedy films. Every move, every word made people laugh so hard their bellies hurt.

  Qijie stared at the video screen, but her mind was a complete blank. Tears fell silently again, and suddenly she felt a movement in her hand. She looked down to see that Tang Yi had handed her a handkerchief. By her ear was Tang Yi's gentle voice: "Don't cry, think positively, there's no hurdle that can't be overcome. Maybe things aren't as bad as you think."

  In the darkness, Qijie had just gone through the cruelest test of her life. For her brother's future, she had made up her mind to become the mistress of that disgusting thing. At this moment, she was at her weakest, feeling extremely tired and wanting to lean on a man's shoulder. Hearing Tang Yi's gentle words, her nose turned sour, and she suddenly flung herself into his arms, bursting into loud sobs.

  Soft jade warm fragrance, fragrant sticky body suddenly rushed into his arms, Tang Yi was shocked, instinctively wanted to push her away, but heard her crying sorrowful and desolate, raised hands hesitated for a long time, finally slowly fell on her hair, gently stroking.

  Qijie cried for a long time, and she hadn't felt this warm hug in a long while. The big hand on her head transmitted waves of comfort, and exhausted from crying, she fell into a deep sleep...

  The bell rang, the lights in the recording studio lit up, and Qijie suddenly sat up. Only then did she realize that she had fallen asleep in Tang Yi's arms, and it seemed like a long time since she had slept so soundly. Looking at Tang Yi's slightly smiling face, Qijie's pretty face turned red, and she silently scolded herself for being foolish. How could she be so embarrassed in front of a boy she had just met? She said with a hint of annoyance, "Why didn't you wake me up?"

  Tang Yi smiled silently, and Qi Jie felt even more embarrassed, her eyes widening as she was about to scold Tang Yi. Suddenly, she found herself laughing at the absurdity of it all - why was she acting like a spoiled little girl? And with this half-grown kid, no less! She shook her head, still smiling.

  Tang Yi and Qi Jie were the last to leave the recording studio. Tang Yi said softly, "Don't worry too much, things may still turn around."

  Qijie smiled silently, finally raised her head to smile at Tang Yi, and waved the handkerchief in her hand: "Thank you, leave it for me as a keepsake!" After finishing, she turned around and left with a rustling sound.

  Tang Yi gazed at her back, standing still for a long time without moving his feet.

  The next day, Tang Yi rushed to the police station and blocked Chen Da in the office just as he was about to go on duty. He locked the door and asked about Zhang Ziqiang's brother. Chen Da was taken aback: "Secretary Tang is so urgent, I thought it was something big! Are you going to catch that kid? I'll take care of it for you." It turned out that Zhang Ziqiang's brother was named Zhang Ziliang, a deputy captain of the criminal investigation team at the bureau. He was actually just an ordinary police officer in charge of some full-time security guards. However, in the eyes of ordinary people, these formal police officers were all very powerful figures.

  Chen Dahai and reported the letter number yesterday, only to find out who Sanzi was relying on, got angry and slapped him several times, until Sanzi made a phone call to ask his brother to come out and apologize. Originally thought it was nothing, heard Tang Yi asked, thinking that Tang Yi felt uncomfortable, Chen Dahai just received a call from the county leader, tomorrow to go to the county bureau to talk, internal rumors, in these few days can be promoted, that is Zhang Ziqiang's direct superior, of course, will not put him in his eyes. If Tang Yi wants to deal with him, Chen Dahai's eyes won't blink. This young town secretary, is Chen Dahai's bet on the future.

  Tang Yi heard that Zhang Ziqiang was such a person, and couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion. Now, a small police officer can make waves outside, which shows how wise the decision-making of the Ministry of Public Security is in governing the police force after several years.

  "So, you go and get this done today. Zhang Ziqiang should know that there's a case involving the brother of a woman named Qi Jie. I don't know what it's about, but find someone to handle it. Make sure it's fair and just, don't wrong him, but also don't indulge him. Be careful to investigate thoroughly, don't let Zhang Ziqiang make trouble."

  Tang Yi finished speaking and said: "You don't have any problems with the county bureau, do you?"

  "No problem, don't worry, I guarantee it will be done beautifully." Tang Yi finally had something to ask Chen Dahe for, and he naturally didn't hesitate to agree. In a few more years, he might not even be able to find such an opportunity himself.

  Back at the town government office, the director of the health center and Nurse Xia had been waiting for Tang Yi for over an hour. They arrived early in the morning to apologize, with Xia crying like a tearful person. Tang Yi didn't make things difficult for them, comforting Xia with a few words and encouraging the director in a perfunctory manner.

  At noon, the director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau and the director of the Taxation Bureau invited him to dinner again. To be honest, since Tang Yi didn't get into any trouble, with his age and education background, his future prospects can be said to be boundless. Compared to Liu Dazhong, who is about to retire, it's like heaven and earth, morning sun and evening sunset. Everyone knows who they should get close to, especially when Tang Yi has been revived from the dead. It's clear that this young man is not simple, with many tricks up his sleeve. The town's leaders all want to make friends with him and make up for their past mistakes. Even Liu Dazhong's own nephew, Xiao Liu, began to distance himself from his uncle, fearing that after Liu Dazhong retires, Tang Yi would give him a hard time.