After Ye Fei returned to the Purple Apartment, in addition to resting every day, he would take evening walks in the park with Lin Qingwan.They held hands as the strolled along the avenue, looking like a pair of lovers.
"Ye Fei, can you tell if anyone"s is following us?"
"Not yesterday, but today… See that car parked on the side of the road? There"s someone in there, watching us."
Ye Fei"s sharp eyes picked up on the occasional strange glints of light coming from inside the car - the sunlight reflecting off the lens of a pair of binoculars!
"This stalker is an amateur. If he knew what he was doing, he"d pay more attention to his angle," Ye Fei scoffed.
On the next day, the stalker was still there.
On the third day, the stalker changed cars, but he was still there.
On the fourth day, Lin Qingwan was starting to get uncomfortable. "Tell me, is Su Zongheng a coward? Why is he just watching us and no doing anything?"
Ye Fei thought for a while and said, "You did say he was a cautious man. Maybe the opportunity doesn"t seem good enough to him. We need to step things up a notch, starting tomorrow."
On the fifth day, Lin Qingwan did not go to the company, but put on a little black dress, a pair of high-heeled shoes and a matching handbag to go shopping with Ye Fei.
Ye Fei dressed casually as always, in a white sweater and a pair of old jeans, like a poor man.
Lin Qingwan didn"t seem to mind as she tightly held Ye Fei"s arm.
Watching them leave the apartment hand-in-hand, Murong giggled, "Sister Qingwan, why are you dressed so nicely? You"re not trying to seduce our Ye Fei, are you? You know he has a girlfriend…"
"Pfft, right!"
Lin Qingwan swung her bag to hit Murong, but the cop jumped out of the way with a mischievous giggle.
Lin Qingwan gave up and went to the car with Ye Fei. "So where are we going shopping?"
Ye Fei"s injury had almost recovered by then, but his legs were still a little stiff, so he grumbled with a wry smile, "I walk so slowly and you want to make me go shopping? I can"t do it."
"Then where are we going? I"m all dressed up already!" Lin Qingwan pouted irritably.
"Well... Let"s go to the Old Street, I have something to deal with."
"Hmm, I heard it"s an interesting place. I haven"t been there yet." Lin Qingwan happily started the engine and drove off.
The Old Street is located in the southwest of Shanghai, with historic buildings on either side. These days it is a commercial street with many boutiques and artisa.n.a.l shops.
The Old Street was crowded with people when they arrived. Ye Fei walked very slowly and Lin Qingwan strolled leisurely alongside him.
"Sugared haws, please."
Ye Fei picked up a little plastic bag from a stall and handed it to Lin Qingwan with a grin. "Taste these."
Lin Qingwan curiously took out a sugar-encrusted berry and held it up to her eyes.
Having grown up in the United States, this was her first time seeing sugared haws. She put it in her mouth. "Mmmm!"
Ye Fei watched her with a smile. Lin Qingwan usually looked tough, but really this was just a disguise. She had the heart of a little girl.
When they reached a plaza, Ye Fei suddenly heard someone calling him and turned around. Qin Xiaomeng was waving to him.
Lin Qingwan smiled to her. "Hey, Xiaomeng! What are you doing here?"
"I"m with my brother," Qin Xiaomeng pointed to a shop called "The King"s Court". "He"s in there."
"The King"s Court" was a shop that sold jade wares. There was a sizeable crowd inside. "Why is it so crowded in there?" wondered Ye Fei.
Lin Qingwan mumbled, "Hmm, I was wanting to get a new emerald pendant… Let"s go to have a look."
Qin Xiaomeng frowned. "They"re playing with stones! Even my brother got into it recently..."
Lin Qingwan c.o.c.ked her head. "Playing with stones?"
"Gambling," Ye Fei said in a low voice.
"Ah, Ye Fei, you know about that stuff?" Qin Xiaomeng looked slightly surprised.
"When I first joined the army, I saw something like this in Burma," Ye Fei recollected. "I saw a man lose his entire fortune and destroy his whole family, all for a little stone."
"Come on, it"s not so scary. Lin Qingwan c.o.c.ked her head. "Let"s go, Xiaomeng, I want to have a look."
A few luxury cars were parked outside the shop. Inside, they noticed a side door leading to a large courtyard where people were playing with stones.
Qin Xiaomeng pushed her way into the crowd, and in a moment, she dragged out a man in his early thirties.
"This is my brother, Qin Xiaogang."
Qin Xiaogang dressed simply, but his eyes were very sharp. When he saw Ye Fei, he immediately cried out with surprise, "Are you Ye Fei?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
Ye Fei had a great memory for faces. He could remember everyone he"d ever met, but he was sure he never met Qin Xiaogang.
"I"ve seen you in the police station!" Qin Xiaogang shook hands with Ye Fei with a broad smile. "You made quite an impression!"