Observation Chapter 18
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Observation Chapter 18: An Lan, Lover of Sappy Romance Novels
“It’s fine. Since the dorm is closing soon, I can just go by myself. You two should go back and get some rest.” Lin Qian paused for a moment before adding, “Why not give Police Chief Qin a call and have him give you a ride?”
Any other guy would not have let an opportunity like this slip by, especially so late at night
After all, these were two vivacious and alluring beauties. Any guy worth his salt would be falling all over himself trying to impress them — demonstrating his masculinity and charm by escorting them back to their dorm or treating and chatting over a late-night snack.
But Lin Qian had no such intentions.
What could he do? He was simply too poor.
So broke, in fact, that he had to count every penny he spent on food.
His straightforward and tactless remarks earned him a massive eye-roll from Ye Li.
“Hahaha, maybe that was a bit blunt. Truth be told, I’m completely penniless right now.” He gave a bitter smile.
“Pfft~ Alright, alright, I get it.” She chuckled and turned to An Lan. “It’s fine. We’ll just stay out tonight and get a hotel room.”
“Mhm, sounds good to me.”
“Okay then.” Seeing that her friend had agreed, the girl turned back and said,
“Supper’s on me tonight. Just so we’re clear, you’d better not sneak away and pay the bill, Lin Qian.”
“Haha, alright. To be honest, paying is the last thing I could afford right now.”
She giggled. “Hehe~ Let’s go!”
With that, she flagged down a taxi by the roadside.
………
The trio did not venture far, settling on a barbecue stall near Southern Sky University that specialized in late-night snacks.
In a college district, food was never hard to find.
Once seated, Lin Qian wasted no time ordering a bowl of fried rice and a bowl of stir-fried noodles before they even got to the rest of the menu.
He was so hungry he could eat an entire cow.
As soon as the fried rice was served, he polished it off in a flurry of bites, grabbing a bottle of mineral water and chugging down several big gulps.
“…”
The way he tore through his food like a ravenous ghost momentarily left the girls at a loss of words.
“Lin Qian, have you… not had dinner?” An Lan asked with wide eyes.
“I did.”
“But you still seem really hungry…”
“Don’t get me started. I feel like I could eat an entire buffet by myself.” Lin Qian said, shovelling a heap of noodles into his mouth.
Ye Li glanced at his frame. “You don’t look… fat to me.”
“Weight’s got nothing to do with appetite. Some heavy people barely eat anything, while some skinny people like me can put away a ton of food. That’s just how it works.”
Just then, the roasted chicken drumsticks arrived at their table.
In contrast to his voracious appetite, his female companions were much more refined, delicately sharing a piece between themselves in a leisurely manner.
He could not help but silently grumble at the sight.
‘Is that piece of meat really so massive it takes two people to finish it?’
‘Or is this just an expression of their strong bond?’
He could not quite wrap his head around it.
Lin Qian felt like he could demolish five of those chicken legs in one go without missing a beat.
He had finished off his noodles and was just about to reach his greedy hand towards the rest of the drumsticks on the table when An Lan suddenly spoke up. “Lin Qian, can I ask you something?”
“Yeah? Fire away.”
“I was just wondering why you decided to live off-campus, since there aren’t many freshmen who do that.” An Lan pulled out a tissue and wiped her mouth. “Could it be… you’re staying with your girlfriend?”
“Well…”
He paused for a moment, unsure how to respond.
“You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to. I was just being nosy, hehe~”
“It’s fine. I was just thinking about how to explain it.” Lin Qian explained. “I write in my spare time and often stay up late, so I’d easily disturb my roommates’ sleep if I lived in a dorm.”
“You write?”
A flicker of intrigue suddenly appeared on the face of Ye Li, who had been standing quietly at the side.
“Ooh, what exactly are you working on? Surely it’s not some… dirty book, right?” An Lan asked, her curiosity piqued.
“Pfft… cough, cough…”
Faced with the childlike curiosity written all over her face, Lin Qian nearly spat out the meat he was chewing on.
“Haha, that sort of racy content would not make it through the censors. I’m just putting together a novel, that’s all.”
“Oh, what genre is it? I absolutely love reading stories, especially school romance ones. They’re just the sweetest!”
“Are you a fan of those lovey-dovey campus tales?”
“Yep, yep! Are you into them too?”
“Uhm…” He glanced sideways at Ye Li, finding himself in a bit of a bind.
From a conversational standpoint, the smart move would be to simply go along with the question and tell his talkative classmate he enjoyed romantic novels as well.
However, there was one problem. Just that afternoon he had told his quiet friend he could not stand those novels. Going back on his word mere hours later would make him look completely inconsistent.
His thoughts turned to the girl… Did she like these sappy stories herself? It was hard to say, given how little she spoke about her preferences.
Still, if he had to wager, he would guess she was probably not a fan of them either.
“I… guess they’re fine? I’ve got nothing against them.”
After a moment of contemplation, Lin Qian gave a vague reply.
“Oh~ that’s perfect! Since we both like reading, let me recommend a few novels for you.” An Lan said, moving over to sit beside him. Pulling out her phone, she began to enthusiastically show him her recommendations.
Smiling and shaking her head at the scene, Ye Li rose from her seat and headed for the door.
Aside from the occasional taxi passing by, the road was almost deserted.
She made her way to a garbage bin and pulled a small, transparent file pouch from her bag.
Inside was a pair of white rubber gloves.
The smile on her lips vanished, replaced by a cold expression. After a quick look around to make sure she was alone, she tossed them into the trash.
………
Outside the police station’s interrogation room.
Chief Qin stood with a rather unpleasant look on his face.
“You didn’t get a thing out of him? What sort of questioning are you people conducting in there?!”
“Everything’s going smoothly, sir. It’s just…” The uniformed officer trailed off mid-sentence.
“What is it? Spit it out!”
“As soon as we brought up what happened this evening, he became extremely agitated… to the point where he could barely speak. We might need a psychiatrist to take a look at him.”
“Tonight’s incident, you say…”
His brow furrowed into a deep crease.
………
At the barbecue stall.
Returning to her seat, Ye Li noticed An Lan’s enthusiasm and asked, “So, what were you two up to while I was gone?”
“We were just talking about novels! Ye Li, I’m telling you, chatting with Lin Qian is so much fun!”
“Oh~? Is that so? He sure knows how to keep a conversation going, huh?”
“I…” Her friend glanced at her, then the guy. She playfully stuck her tongue out before sitting upright. “Lili, where’d you go just now?”
“I was in the restroom. Lin Qian, you said you’re a writer, right?”
“Yep, just a broke one. Even putting food on the table is a real struggle.”
“Oh… um, would you mind if I took a look at your novel?”
“Well…” Lin Qian quickly shook his head. “It’s probably best that you don’t. It’s… rather unconventional and definitely not the kind of thing a young woman like yourself would want to read.”
“Not for girls? What kind of story is it?” An Lan scratched her head, looking genuinely puzzled.
Ye Li’s reaction, however, was completely different. Though she had seemed disinterested before, a strange glint suddenly flickered in her eyes. Without so much as a change in expression, she said calmly, “Let me take a look. Just the name will do.”