Chapter 21: The Hot Noodles – Let’s Go Watch the Show
Fang Xiaocao turned around and saw Song Lin and Wang Qiang sitting at the table, looking at her with amused expressions.
Her face flushed slightly as she asked hesitantly, “Captain Song, Officer Wang, what are you two laughing at?”
“Nothing, nothing. Since we’re done eating, let’s not take up the seats,” Song Lin waved his hand and chuckled.
“Got it!” Fang Xiaocao responded and followed them out of the barbecue restaurant.
Ring, ring, ring—
Just as they stepped out, Wang Qiang’s phone rang.
“Hello, this is Wang Qiang,” he answered.
“Alright, I’ll be there immediately.”
He hung up, his face turning serious.
“A case?” Song Lin asked.
“Yeah,” Wang Qiang nodded.
“Then you should head over quickly,” Song Lin said in a deep voice.
“I’ll drive you,” Fang Xiaocao offered.
Hearing this, Wang Qiang and Song Lin exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
“Haha, we were just about to ask you for a ride!” Wang Qiang grinned. “You think the barbecue was free?”
“Cut the nonsense, let’s go,” Song Lin playfully punched Wang Qiang.
“Xiaocao, sorry to trouble you. We didn’t drive here,” Song Lin smiled.
“No problem, I’m free anyway,” Fang Xiaocao replied cheerfully.
Once inside the red Range Rover, she asked, “Officer Wang, where to?”
“Sunshine Community, Building 7, Unit 2,” Wang Qiang checked his phone and said.
“Alright, let’s go!”
She set the navigation and drove straight to Sunshine Community, which wasn’t far from her rental place in New Heaven Community. Soon, they arrived.
Pulling up at Building 7, she stopped right in front of Unit 2.
“Officers, we’ve arrived,” she said with a smile.
“Haha, thanks a lot,” Wang Qiang grinned, opening the door and rushing upstairs.
“Eh? Captain Song, aren’t you going up?” Fang Xiaocao asked, puzzled.
“I haven’t officially resumed duty yet,” Song Lin explained with a smile.
“Oh, then where do you need to go? I’ll drop you off.”
“I’ll wait for Wang Qiang here. You should head home,” he said, getting out of the car.
“Alright, see you later, Captain Song.”
“See you.”
Fang Xiaocao drove out of Sunshine Community and back to her place in New Heaven Community.
After taking a shower, she sat in the living room feeling completely lost. She suddenly had so much free time and didn’t know what to do with herself.
Back when she had days off, she was either working a part-time job or on her way to one. She had never been this idle before.
Ding-dong!
Just then, her phone notification chimed, snapping her out of her daze.
She picked it up and, unsurprisingly, saw a WeChat message.
[Hot Noodles: Alone at home late at night… feeling empty, lonely, and cold?]
“Pfft—”
Seeing the message, she burst into laughter.
“You don’t sound like a good person.”
She replied playfully.
[Hot Noodles: Ahem, just kidding.]
“Your joke was quite successful—I really laughed.”
[Hot Noodles: Get ready, I’ll take you to watch some drama.]
Reading this, Fang Xiaocao immediately perked up.
“Drama? What kind of drama?”
She asked curiously.
[Hot Noodles: Watch a shameless woman get humiliated.]
“Han Xue?”
Her eyes lit up as she eagerly asked.
[Hot Noodles: Bingo!]
“Where? Where?”
She jumped up from the couch, asking while running back to her room to change.
[Hot Noodles: Bar Street.]
Fang Xiaocao paused for a second before realizing—Han Xue loved going to 857 and frequently visited bars. Seeing her at Bar Street wasn’t surprising at all.
Quickly changing, she grabbed her car keys, rushed downstairs, and drove her red Range Rover straight to Bar Street.
Arriving there, she didn’t even need to get out of the car to spot Han Xue.
She parked by the roadside, leaned on the window, and enjoyed the show.
“Wuwu~”
“Brother Shen, please let me go. I really can’t drink anymore…”
Han Xue, looking disheveled, knelt on the ground, clutching a man’s pant leg as she begged.
“Can’t drink?”
“Then why the hell are you taking clients?”
“And even had the nerve to disrespect my customers?”
The man sneered, his expression cold.
Fang Xiaocao recognized him immediately—Shen Tao, the owner of this entire bar street, and a close associate of Qi Yu. She had seen him a few times before.
“I…”
Han Xue shuddered at Shen Tao’s glare.
“What ‘I’?”
Shen Tao scolded, his tone menacing.
“Without Qi Yu, what the hell are you?”
“You dared to order Lafite?”
“Do you even know if you’re worth a bottle of Lafite?”
He grabbed Han Xue’s hair and yanked her up, squeezing her face as he spoke icily.
“I’ll give you two options—pay up or serve the guests properly.”
Shen Tao stared into Han Xue’s tear-filled eyes, his voice chilling.
“Brother Shen, please, I beg you…”
“I’ll pay you back little by little, okay?”
She pleaded desperately.
“Pay me back? With what?”
“Do you think selling yourself would even cover the bill?”
“I run a business, not a charity. If I wait for you to pay me back, I’ll never see my money again.”
Shen Tao pushed her to the ground and pointed at her, yelling.
“Fine, don’t say I didn’t give you a chance.”
“Let’s do the math.”
He pulled out a bill and slapped it onto her face.
“Private luxury suite, service fees, fruit platters, and drinks—bundled together, that’s 10,000.”
“1982 Lafite, 60,000 a bottle, and you ordered two. That’s 120,000.”
“In total, 130,000. Pay up now.”
Shen Tao glared at her and said coldly.
Looking at the bill, Han Xue’s face turned deathly pale.
To her, 130,000 was an astronomical figure.
Before, relying on Qi Yu’s backing, she never worried about spending money at the bars. She only had to order, drink, and leave—the bills were naturally settled by Qi Yu later.
Tonight, feeling proud and wanting to show off, she casually ordered two bottles of 1982 Lafite to indulge in her vanity.
She never expected Qi Yu to get arrested.
With no money to pay, Shen Tao made her serve clients to clear the debt.
But she didn’t expect the client to be a disgusting old man who kept groping her.
She endured it for a few drinks before finally snapping and storming out.
She thought she could hide out somewhere and wait for Qi Yu to return before coming back to settle the score.
But just as she stepped outside, Shen Tao caught her.
Han Xue still had no idea that Qi Yu wasn’t coming back—ever.
(End of Chapter 21)
