"Brother, give me forty yuan for the night self-study fee!"
"Oh, okay!" Xiao Shi snapped back to reality, opened his wallet, and handed one of the two hundred-yuan bills to his sister: "It's almost season change, use the rest to buy yourself some clothes!"
"Thanks, brother!" Xiao Ling smiled happily, took the money, and said, "I'm off to school, the food is in the pot, help yourself!"
"Mhm, be careful on the way."
"Hehe, what's there to be careful about? It's just a five-minute walk!"
After Xiao Ling left, Xiao Shi looked at the only hundred yuan left in his wallet and couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. It had been almost a month since he resigned, and he hadn't told Xiao Ling yet. With no livelihood in sight, he was about to burn through his savings. Although there was still over ten thousand yuan in the bank, that was saved for Xiao Ling's college education and absolutely couldn't be touched.
After Xiao Shi resigned, leaders like Xiao Yuanshan and Qin Jianfeng had several heart-to-heart talks with him, urging him not to be so stubborn. They even mentioned that the bureau's party committee decided to award him a second-class merit, and the municipal committee would also grant him a hero title. Despite police work being his most beloved profession, Xiao Shi still refused. He knew he was stubborn, but that was just his nature since childhood—never taking back his words and never regretting his actions. Xiao Shi's resignation wasn't just about standing up to Niu Ming. Although he loved being a police officer, he had long harbored thoughts of stepping back, all for his sister Xiao Ling. Having been a police officer for eight years, witnessing comrades sacrifice their lives every year, Xiao Shi wasn't afraid of death—never was—but he didn't want Xiao Ling to follow in his footsteps. This was the decisive factor in his refusal to return to the police force.
For the past month, Xiao Shi had been running around everywhere looking for a job, deeply experiencing the hardships of life. He was just a police academy graduate with a technical secondary school diploma. Although he obtained a party school undergraduate degree after starting work, everyone knew what that was worth. Upon hearing he was a former police officer, potential employers kept their distance. Xiao Shi was indignant—he had resigned on his own terms, retired after achieving merit, not dismissed for wrongdoing. Why look down on him?
The only two places willing to take him were security companies, offering a monthly salary of 800 yuan. Xiao Shi didn't take the jobs—not because it was too little, but because it simply wasn't enough. The monthly food expenses for Xiao Shi and his sister were about four hundred yuan, Xiao Ling still had school, plus utilities and gas bills, and Xiao Shi's occasional cigarettes—how could that possibly suffice?
But Xiao Shi wasn't worried because he had a skill—he could repair vehicles. Oh, bicycles, that is.
"One more day, just one more day!" Xiao Shi was about to get up to eat. His plan was simple: if he couldn't find a job today, he would withdraw some money from the bank, buy some parts, and set up a small roadside stall for car repairs. The income might not compare to being a police officer, but it was better than working as a security guard around the clock. Besides, being a security guard was also risking one's life, not much different from being a cop.
"Chang Mei, is that you?" The sound of the door opening came from the entrance, and Xiao Shi happily went out to greet her. Apart from him and Xiao Ling, only his girlfriend Chang Mei had the key to his house.
"Who else did you think it was!" Chang Mei closed the door and glared at him fiercely. Since Xiao Shi resigned, Chang Mei had been treating him like a class enemy.
Xiao Shi laughed and said, "Look at you, how long has it been, and you're still pulling a long face, just like Cecilia Cheung!" Why pulling a long face resembled Cecilia Cheung, Xiao Shi didn't know. But whenever he saw Cecilia Cheung's gaunt face, he thought of criminals in prison who couldn't get enough to eat.
"Just keep laughing! Let's see how you laugh when you can't even get a meal!" Chang Mei snorted, thrusting the lunchbox she was holding into Xiao Shi's hands angrily before walking into the room by herself.
When Xiao Shi opened the lunchbox, his eyes lit up immediately. It was dumplings, and judging by the tempting green color faintly visible through the skin, they were stuffed with three delicacies. Overjoyed, he grabbed one and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing as he followed Chang Mei into the room.
Chang Mei wasn't called 'Mei' because she was younger than Xiao Shi; her surname was Chang, and her given name was Mei. She was the administrative staff of the criminal police team, the number one police beauty in the entire bureau. Xiao Shi said her name was no good, as any man could call her 'Mei' and take advantage of her; Chang Mei thought it was great, as it made her feel younger than others no matter how old she got. Chang Mei didn't look like Cecilia Cheung at all. With her oval face, big, fluffy eyes, and the modified police uniform that accentuated her chest and figure, she was the epitome of a uniform temptation that made anyone drool.
Xiao Shi sat closely next to Chang Mei on the bed, still devouring the dumplings, but his eyes unconsciously glanced at Chang Mei's prominent chest, even though everything that could happen between them had already happened.
"You're such a creep!" Chang Mei lightly scolded, looking at Xiao Shi's expression.
Xiao Shi chuckled and asked, "Why aren't you at work today?"
"Can't I have a day off?" Chang Mei bumped Xiao Shi's same part with her leg.
Xiao Shi sighed inwardly, stuffed two dumplings into his mouth in succession, wiped his hands, and then draped his arm over Chang Mei's shoulder. Chang Mei shot Xiao Shi a glare, shook her body reluctantly, but didn't manage to shake him off, so she gave up.
"I say, Chang Mei, it's been almost a month now, isn't it about time you stopped giving me the cold shoulder?"
"About time?! Far from it!" Chang Mei half-turned her body, staring at Xiao Shi, "Listen, Xiao Shi, the bureau is going to build houses, what do you think we should do?"
Xiao Shi was taken aback and didn't say anything. He had no money, so he had no say.
"Xiao Shi, don't be stubborn anymore, the bureau still has your position open. Listen to me, even if it's just for me, go back, okay?" Chang Mei tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and hugged Xiao Shi's arm, "Actually, our income as police officers isn't bad. The bureau's houses are only sixteen hundred per square meter this time, and the down payment is just over thirty thousand. If you go back, we'd be a dual-income couple and could move up the waiting list. With our combined income, we could take out a loan for a hundred and twenty square meters, and it wouldn't affect our life at all."
"Chang Mei, you know my personality, I..."
"Personality?! Don't talk to me about your personality, it just makes me angry! What good is personality?! Can it feed you? Or give us a house to live in?" Chang Mei was both angry and upset, full of resentment, "I'm already twenty-five, which would be considered late marriage for you. Can't you, a grown man, put aside your stubbornness and think about our future?" Men are considered to marry late at twenty-five by actual age, but Chang Mei was counting by nominal age, and at this moment, she didn't feel the advantage of being young.
Xiao Shi's heart sank, and he fell silent.
Chang Mei grew angrier as she spoke: "If you don't go back, how are we supposed to make money? How are we supposed to eat? How are we supposed to buy a house? How are we supposed to get married? Xiao Shi, society is realistic. Who doesn't have to put up with some boss's temper? Why is it only you who can't stand it? Wake up and face reality! Do you really want me to live in this doghouse with you for the rest of my life?" As she spoke, Chang Mei abruptly pointed to the side.
Xiao Shi's house was given to him by a distant relative under the guise of a loan when he graduated from the police academy. It was a small partitioned room, the kind where two families share a bathroom and kitchen, with only one room. As Xiao Ling grew older, living together became very inconvenient, especially with studying to do. Xiao Shi built a wall with standing bricks and made a half-height sliding door at the front, enclosing a single bed inside. Xiao Shi would crawl in and out of the sliding door every day. If this space were reduced to two feet in height, it really would resemble a doghouse.
The two had made love many times in this little doghouse, and afterward, Chang Mei would always hug him and say that making love there made them feel like a pair of little male and female dogs. Xiao Shi found this remark incredibly warm and full of sentiment, sometimes even going as far as to do it again from behind in the manner of dogs. But this time, Xiao Shi was not in the mood for sentiment.
Xiao Shi silently took out a cigarette, lit the last one he had, took a drag, and said, 'Chang Mei, you don't need to say anything. I'm not going back anyway.'
'You...' Chang Mei watched as Xiao Shi blew out a smoke ring, perfectly round, floating away slowly, growing larger and more dispersed the further it went, until it finally vanished. Chang Mei seemed to understand something, quickly snapped out of her thoughts, sighed lightly, and said, 'Forget it, I won't lecture you anymore. Think it over yourself. I'm leaving first.'
Chang Mei stood up and walked out with her head down.
'Chang Mei!'
Chang Mei stopped. Xiao Shi walked up, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, and whispered, 'Chang Mei, it's my fault. Don't be angry. Anger doesn't suit you.'
'Hmph! You better know it!' Chang Mei twisted away and walked towards the door again.
'Aren't you on your day off? Why... are you in such a hurry to leave?'
'I... I can't work overtime by myself?!' Chang Mei's face turned red, she stamped her foot, turned her head, and left.
Xiao Shi sat back on the bed and continued smoking the unfinished cigarette. For the past month, listening to Chang Mei's complaints had been depressing, but today, he felt a sense of powerlessness. After more than a year of dating, he often had this feeling, but never as strongly as today. Perhaps, he had felt too happy before.
Chang Mei was the top police beauty in the bureau, her father was a section chief in the civil affairs bureau, and her mother was a high school teacher, reportedly a special education teacher at that. In the entire bureau, whether married or single, as long as they were male, none could look at Chang Mei without their eyes turning green with envy. Xiao Shi didn't, never had. It wasn't that Chang Mei wasn't beautiful, nor that he was unwilling, he just hadn't thought about it, even though Xiao Shi was very handsome. To Xiao Shi, dating was like going to the market to buy groceries—you could buy some greens and radishes, or you could buy some pork ribs, but he wouldn't even glance at bird's nest or shark fin because he knew exactly how much money he had in his pocket.
Qin Jianfeng said he would introduce him to someone, and without thinking, he went. But when he saw it was Chang Mei, his first reaction was shock; his second reaction was still shock. One shock was agreement, two shocks meant willingness, very willing. From then on, he was happy for over a year, until he resigned a month ago.
After quickly finishing a cigarette, Xiao Shi silently took out his savings book. He decided not to waste any more time looking for a job and went straight to buy parts. There was still much he needed to do.
"Ah!"
As Xiao Shi opened the outer door, accompanied by a light scream, he saw the terrified face of a girl. He was stunned, then suddenly felt a sharp pain in his lower body. The girl was holding a suitcase, which had just hit his sensitive area.
"Ah—!" Xiao Shi also screamed, louder than the girl. Any man would scream in such a situation.
Clutching his crotch, Xiao Shi jumped away with strange cries.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," the girl apologized repeatedly, her face red.
"It's okay, it's okay, it was my carelessness." How embarrassing! Xiao Shi quickly let go of his hands, straightened up, and tried to act tough. The girl instinctively glanced at Xiao Shi's lower body, then quickly turned her head away, her face turning even redder.
"Oh, who are you looking for?" Xiao Shi asked, enduring the sharp pain.
"I... I'm not looking for anyone," the girl said softly, holding up a set of keys. "I'm the new tenant here."