Whoops, Qin Feng thought immediately. At Qin Feng"s words, Sister Flower"s face fell and she said, "Why did you think of him? Him? Why choose him when I want to get away from these bad people? Surely you realize that he is the real head of the underground in Tianhe City?"
"Of course I do. It"s because of that that I want to work with him. He"s the only one who can protect you in Tianhe."
Qin Feng continued, "I can"t always be by your side. If I ever have to leave or am prevented from returning to Tianhe, only Jia Quan"s name can frighten away anyone who might hurt you. Let him be a shareholder. A lot of issues, like surprise inspections, for instance, can be smoothed over with someone like him on our team to make a phone call or two. It would be our honor to have a person like him as a shareholder of Hua"er Hutong."
Hearing Qin Feng"s thoughts, Sister Flower replied, "You"re right, of course, but we don"t have the capital needed to talk with Jia Quan about going in on this with us. Don"t misunderstand my meaning. He doesn"t value money. He"s seen everything and has everything. Except..."
Sister Flower trailed off. Qin Feng understood her meaning and laughed. "Except you, right? He"s been interested in you for a long time. I"m aware."
Sister Flower scowled. "But you still recommend him! How dangerous! What are you thinking? I"m telling you, I don"t want to get involved with him. It wasn"t easy to break away from Zhao Jun, but I"ve finally realized that I can be out on my own. Now you want me to fall into another abyss? I"m not young. I have maybe two years left to get married. But if I get involved with Jia Quan? Who knows what could happen?!"
Sister Flower then became eerily calm and said, "Jia Quan is not a fool. You don"t provoke him and expect to escape unscathed."
Qin Feng listened, then laughed, "Sister Flower, rest a.s.sured. Earlier, Li Faxian knelt to me, but I did not beat him or force him to make him do that, did I? You know, he received a phone call from Jia Quan before he did that. Do you understand? Jia Quan can help us."
Qin Feng did not say everything he was thinking, but Sister Flower understood his meaning.
She nodded slowly, then began to examine every inch of Qin Feng"s skin. She finished by looking deeply into his eyes and asking, "Qin Feng, where are you from? In Tianhe City, there are very few people who can suppress Jin Quan. Are you hiding something from me?"
"Sister Flower, where on Earth could I be from? Truthfully, there are a lot of things I can"t tell you right now. Be patient. I"ll tell you everything when I get a chance." Qin Feng smiled. "Remember this. I will never be let you disappointed, and will never let people bully you."
Although the air was cooling down, Sister Flower felt a warm current all over her body.
She looked deeply into Qin Feng"s eyes again and said, "Thank you. Although you hide many things from me, you still do so many good things for me. I know this in my heart. If you didn"t take care of me, I wouldn"t follow you."
Qin Feng felt his heart leap. The feeling he had pressed down earlier resurfaced. Although he felt the resurgence of that feeling Qin Feng suspected could be love, he bit his tongue.
As long as Sister Flower is happy and safe, that is enough, he thought.
As for the potential of love, he decided again to let it go. Time would prove everything. If it really developed between the two of them, Qin Feng would not run away. It"s just love. Nothing terrible. But now isn"t the time.
Truthfully, he was anxious. He was afraid that the enemy could take advantage of his relationship with Sister Flower to hurt her or manipulate him.
His career demanded that he take certain risks, but it also put those around him at risk. The thought made him worry. He did not want any harm to come to Sister Flower.
"Sister Flower, tomorrow I have to leave for a long trip. I might be gone for a week and a half. You have to take good care of yourself in the Tianhe. While I"m gone, stay inside and rest as much as possible."
Sister Flower was stupefied. "What? Where will you go? I have nothing to do now that I don"t have a job. If you can, take me with you. I just want to be out in the fresh air," she begged.
"Ah, I"m afraid that isn"t entirely possible..." Qin Feng said, startled by Sister Flower"s request. After the initial shock wore off, he said, "I"m going with a group of men. You would be uncomfortable."
"Oh." Sister Flower was clearly disappointed, but she forced a smile and excitedly said, "Right. The name of Hua"er Hutong is so literary! How about I go to Dali for some inspiration? After seeing Huang Bo"s movie, Heart Flower Blossom on the Road, I want to go have a look at the Erhai."
"Yeah, that"s a good idea," Qin Feng said slowly. Sister Flower traveling would be safer than if she stayed here. After she finished traveling, Qin Feng would be nearly done with his task. Then he"d return to Tianhe and they could start on their new career as bar owners.
Sister Flower looked at Qin Feng and slowly said, "You know, there are a lot of single girls there. Do you not want to go too?"
"I don"t know that I"ll have the chance. How about if I finish early, I"ll go?" Qin Feng asked seriously.
"Sounds fine. In the meantime, I"ll be over there finding handsome guys!" Sister Flower blinked flirtatiously. Did she see a jealous expression flash across Qin Feng"s face?
"Ha, ha. Find a Yi aboriginal man. I hear they"re the best," Qin Feng said dryly.
Sister Flower pouted and said, "Fine. I may even get married and settle down there."
Qin Feng laughed. "Ah, it"s funny to see how angry you get. Here you are trying to tease me, but now you"re stuck in your own joke. You look constipated. I doubt your new husband will like that about you."
Qin Feng ducked quickly to avoid Sister Flower"s hand as she shouted, "Come on! You"re the one who"s constipated, Qin Feng."
Qin Feng ran from Sister Flower as she shouted after him. Soon they were both laughing under the bright sunshine, their long shadows trailing behind them.
---
As evening fell, Qin Feng waited in front of the city"s public security bureau.
Eventually, Jia Quan came out of the building and got into an Audi police car that had just pulled up. After he shut the door, the police car slowly pulled down the ramp and turned to leave the lot. As the car approached the exit, Qin Feng stood calmly and waited for it to arrive.