Eating Melons in the Police Station

Qiu ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‍Sheng finished feeding Little Tong some water and walked back to Wen Hechang, "Wait a little longer. She’ll probably tire herself out soon, and once she’s done playing, I’ll take you back."

Wen Hechang was still reeling from the shocking news that his goddess had a daughter, his face blank as if he were sleepwalking.

Hearing Qiu Sheng’s words, he turned his head in a daze, "Huh? Go where?"

Qiu Sheng replied, "To my place to check on the progress of the doll clothes. Isn’t that why you came here?"

"Oh, right." He nodded absentmindedly.

Little Tong was sweating profusely from playing, her little ponytail had come undone, and her clothes were wrinkled from rolling around in the play area.

Qiu Sheng had her stand on a bench in the waiting area in her socks, took out a comb from her bag to fix her hair, and then pulled out a tissue to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

The child stood obediently on the bench, letting her mother fuss over her, her bright eyes fixed on Wen Hechang. "Who are you?"

Wen Hechang was still in a daze.

Qiu Sheng glanced at him and explained to the child, "He’s Mommy’s friend. You should call him ‘big brother.’"

Little Tong rummaged through her little backpack and pulled out a pack of rainbow candy, handing it to Wen Hechang.

Wen Hechang saw it and quickly waved his hand, "No, thank you, I don’t eat candy."

"Open it for me."

Wen Hechang, "..." He took the candy, opened it, and handed it back to the little girl.

Little Tong, now holding the opened pack of rainbow candy, pinched a piece between her fingers and offered it to him. "Here, for you."

Wen Hechang resignedly took it, popped it into his mouth, and crushed it with his molars. Despite it being candy, it tasted bitter.

After tidying up Little Tong, Qiu Sheng took them both back home by taxi.

At home, there were indeed a pair of Zhong Jin’s men’s slippers, but Zhong Jin was a germaphobe and hated anyone touching his personal belongings. Qiu Sheng found a pair of disposable hotel slippers for Wen Hechang to wear instead.

From the moment he stepped into the house, Wen Hechang had been discreetly observing his surroundings.

The house was spotless, with no signs of a man living there.

There was a pair of men’s leather shoes by the entrance, but Wen Hechang had seen online that many women living alone would deliberately place a pair of men’s shoes at the door to avoid revealing their single status to delivery or courier workers.

Wen Hechang walked over to the living room and glanced back at the black leather shoes. The visible part of the shoes was spotless, clearly untouched.

The door to the master bedroom was open, and he could see that the room was decorated as a colorful children’s room. If there were a male head of the household, the master bedroom would undoubtedly be for the couple.

This further confirmed Wen Hechang’s suspicion that Qiu Sheng was living here alone with her daughter.

Qiu Sheng led Wen Hechang to her studio and showed him some of the works-in-progress. "The basic shapes are done, but the details aren’t finished yet. I can send you photos later."

Even though they were just rough drafts, the intricate designs and craftsmanship were already evident.

Wen Hechang looked at the elaborately patterned dress and suddenly blurted out, "You’ve had it tough."

Qiu Sheng thought he was referring to the difficulty of making the doll clothes and nodded in agreement. "It’s been exhausting."

"You look tired."

Qiu Sheng replied, "Yes, raising a child alone is hard. I didn’t get to nap at noon."

Wen Hechang looked at Qiu Sheng with a complex expression, a hint of pity flickering in his eyes.

He was about to say something more when Qiu Sheng suddenly spoke up,

"Wait outside for a bit. I’ll make copies of the revised sketches for you to take back, so we don’t have to scan them later."

He left Qiu Sheng’s small studio and walked over to the living room, sitting down on the sofa.

Little Tong was riding a noiseless-tire tricycle, with a bag of snacks in the front basket and a bag of plush toys in the back.

She was playing a game of pretending to be a bus driver, with the plush toys as her passengers. When the tricycle reached a "stop," Little Tong would turn around, grab a plush toy, and toss it to the ground with a plop.

"You’ve arrived. Please go home."

Then she’d pedal her tricycle to the next bus stop.

Watching this scene, Wen Hechang thought to himself, *This poor child. Her father isn’t around, and her mother is busy with work, so she’s learned to play by herself.*

He was completely immersed in his own sentimental thoughts, wishing the child would call him "Daddy" right then and there, so he could give her a complete childhood.

"Little one, come here," Wen Hechang beckoned to Little Tong.

Little Tong pedaled her tricycle over. "What?"

Wen Hechang asked kindly, "What’s your name?"

"My name is Zhong Yuntong."

So, she shared Zhong Jin’s surname.

Wen Hechang didn’t dare ask Qiu Sheng who the father was, but he guessed it was probably Senior Zhong Jin, though Qiu Sheng and Zhong Jin were already divorced.

From the looks of it, the child had been granted to Qiu Sheng’s custody.

He didn’t know that Zhong Jin was also in Haishan, assuming he was still with the Jing City Criminal Investigation Team.

The ever-imaginative Wen Hechang then conjured up a whole soap opera in his mind. Something unforgivable must have happened between them, and Qiu Sheng, not wanting to see Zhong Jin, had fled with her child to this faraway place.

Little Tong, having no one to play with, was entertaining herself. Now that someone was finally paying attention to her, the little mischief-maker was ready to stir up some fun.

She propped her chubby feet, clad in rainbow toe socks, on the tricycle’s crossbar and tilted her chin up at Wen Hechang.

"Wanna play?"

Wen Hechang, overwhelmed by a sudden surge of paternal affection, immediately nodded. "Sure, what do you want to play? Have you ever ridden a horsey?"

Little Tong wiggled her round toes. "What’s a horsey?"

Riding a horsey was a game Wen Hechang used to play with his father as a child. The father would get down on all fours and act as the horse, while the child sat on his back, and the father would crawl around the house carrying the child. That was called riding a horsey.

Thinking of this, Wen Hechang felt even more heartbroken.

A child without a father around had never even ridden a horsey.

Determined to give her a complete childhood, he immediately knelt down, got on all fours, and turned his head to Little Tong.

"Climb on. I’ll give you a ride."

Little Tong quickly climbed off her tricycle and, without hesitation, scrambled onto Wen Hechang’s back, grabbing his hair for balance. Without any prompting, she shouted, "Giddy up!"

Wen Hechang, however, felt his back sink the moment Little Tong sat down. The child was heavier than he’d expected.

Wen Hechang carried Little Tong around the living room twice, his legs and back starting to ache, his stamina waning.

The child on his back laughed joyfully. "Faster, giddy up, giddy up!"

Thinking of her as a poor, fatherless child, Wen Hechang gritted his teeth and carried her for two more laps.

"I want to keep playing! Go faster!" Seeing him slow down, Little Tong kicked her chubby feet, urging him to hurry.

Wen Hechang was truly exhausted and whispered a plea, "The horsey is tired. Can we play again next time?"

He had no idea what Qiu Sheng was feeding this child—she was heavier than a set of gym weights.

"Okay," Little Tong said, bracing her hands on Wen Hechang’s back as she prepared to dismount.

Qiu Sheng walked out holding a stack of photocopies and, seeing this scene, exclaimed in surprise, "Little Tong, what are you doing? Why are you sitting on his back? You’re too heavy, get down."

Wen Hechang, seeing Qiu Sheng emerge, saw this as his chance to shine.

He laughed heartily and shook his head. "It’s fine. I work out regularly. Her weight’s no problem." He even turned to Little Tong and said, "Hold on tight, Tongtong. We’re off!"

The chubby child immediately leaned forward, clinging to the "horse’s" back, cheering, "Let’s go!"

Wen Hechang’s back sank again.

He could almost hear his spine creaking under the strain.

After two more laps, even Qiu Sheng could see he was struggling and quickly called a halt to the dangerous game.

Realizing Zhong Jin would be home soon, Qiu Sheng handed Wen Hechang the photocopied sketches and sent him on his way.

*

Qiu Sheng did not intend to tell Zhong Jin about Wen Hechang's visit to Haishan. After all, Wen had already left, and there was no need to stir up unnecessary trouble. If Zhong Jin found out, he would surely make some sarcastic remarks.

Moreover, Qiu Sheng and Zhong Jin were already divorced, so she didn’t have to report everything to him anymore.

Unaware of the situation, Director Zhong had already returned to the neighborhood. After parking his car, he walked to the fresh produce supermarket at the entrance of the community to buy groceries.

Just as he entered the supermarket, Wen Hechang passed by the entrance, holding his waist. The two narrowly missed each other.

Zhong Jin bought seafood, some leafy greens, mushrooms, and tofu, planning to make a seafood hotpot for dinner.

Back home, he changed into slippers, neatly placing his leather shoes in the shoe cabinet. He washed his hands in the bathroom and immediately tossed his clothes into the laundry basket.

With his obsessive cleanliness, Director Zhong couldn’t stand having a single piece of clutter in the house.

After tidying up, he walked to the door of Qiu Sheng’s studio and knocked, “Qiu Sheng, are you there?”

Qiu Sheng stood up and opened the door, “You’re back?”

“Where’s Little Tong?”

“She’s sleeping.”

Zhong Jin frowned, “Why is she sleeping at this hour? She won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

“She probably got tired from playing. We went to the children’s amusement park this afternoon.”

Remembering Zhong Jin’s expertise in investigation and his ability to analyze micro-expressions, Qiu Sheng felt a pang of guilt. She quickly said, “I still have work to do,” and shut the door.

After dinner, Zhong Jin sat on the sofa watching the news, while Little Tong rode her tricycle over to him.

She gripped the handlebars of the tricycle and rested her chubby, rainbow-socked feet on Zhong Jin’s knee. “Daddy, let’s play.”

Zhong Jin kept his eyes on the TV, “Play what?”

“Horse ride.”

“What’s a horse ride?”

Qiu Sheng, curled up in the armchair flipping through a fashion magazine, perked up at their conversation. Before Little Tong could explain, Qiu Sheng chimed in,

“A horse ride is when you get on all fours, she sits on your back, and you carry her around the room.”

Zhong Jin’s gaze shifted from the TV to the eager little girl, frowning.

“Do you even know how heavy you are? My back would break if I carried you.”

Qiu Sheng, worried that the child might say something else, quickly interjected, “Little Tong, go grab a picture book and ask Daddy to read you a story.”

The little girl pedaled away on her tricycle, dragging her pile of stuffed animals behind her. A moment later, she rushed out of her room and tossed a hardcover picture book onto Zhong Jin’s lap.

Zhong Jin picked her up and sat her on his knee. “Where did we stop last time?”

Little Tong leaned against Zhong Jin’s chest, blinking innocently, “I don’t remember.”

Zhong Jin flipped to the bookmarked page. “Alright, we’re here. This story is called, ‘Who’s the Big Fool?’”