Eating Melons in the Police Station-Chapter 111

Du Xin had just arrived in Haishan, and as half-hosts, Zhong Jin and the others naturally wanted to welcome her with a proper meal.

During the car ride, Zhong Jin asked Du Xin, "Do you eat seafood? We’ll pick up Qiu Sheng, and then we can all go for seafood."

Du Xin quickly replied, "I’m fine with anything, but I’ll pay. I already feel bad for making you come pick me up."

While they exchanged polite words, Qiu Chen had already taken out his phone to look up restaurants in Haishan. Spotting a Michelin-starred one nearby, he said,

"There’s a Michelin two-star restaurant here. I’ll have my secretary reserve a table. Let me know if you have any dietary restrictions."

Du Xin came from an ordinary family—one that was even slightly below average. She was raised by a single mother, a regular nurse at a local hospital.

Having just graduated and started working, the mention of a Michelin restaurant left her speechless.

She worried that a single meal might wipe out her entire month’s living expenses.

Zhong Jin reassured her, "Don’t worry, just go with the flow. Let the big spender handle it."

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After dinner, a waiter in a bow tie brought the bill to the table, and Qiu Chen handed over his credit card without hesitation.

The waiter took the card and said, "Mr. Qiu, please wait a moment."

Du Xin still felt a bit awkward. After all, this was her first time meeting Qiu Chen, and she was already letting him treat her to such an expensive meal.

Summoning her courage, she said, "Thank you, Brother Qiu. I really appreciate it."

By the end of the meal, Little Tong, the social butterfly of the group, had already warmed up to Du Xin. She clung to Du Xin’s arm, resting her chin on her hand, and giggled,

"Just go with the flow. Let the big spender handle it."

Children had a natural talent for lightening the mood, especially a little extrovert like Little Tong. With her around, there was never an awkward silence, and Du Xin’s nervousness melted away effortlessly.

As Qiu Chen carried Little Tong out of the restaurant, she wrapped her arms around his neck and said seriously, "You’re Mr. Qiu, and I’m Ms. Zhong, right?"

"No, you’re CEO Zhong—the future CEO of the Qiu Corporation."

The three adults walking beside them nearly facepalmed. CEO Zhong of the Qiu Corporation? Qiu Chen, do you even hear yourself?

Du Xin’s new workplace provided accommodation, but the arrangements hadn’t been finalized yet, leaving her to figure out her own lodging for about a week.

A week was an awkward length—too short to rent an apartment, but staying in a hotel would still cost a fair bit.

Originally, Du Xin had planned to stay in a long-term rental homestay, which would be much cheaper than a hotel for a week.

But after discussing it, Zhong Jin and Qiu Sheng decided to just let her stay at their place.

There was a small room in the house that Qiu Sheng had used as a studio. Most of the things inside had already been cleared out, leaving only a shelf and a few damaged dolls.

They set up a temporary bed in the studio for Qiu Chen to stay in.

Meanwhile, the guest room Qiu Sheng had been using was freshly made up with clean, cozy bedding for Du Xin.

As for Qiu Sheng? She was relegated to the children’s room.

But ever since the movie ticket incident had been exposed, Little Tong refused to let either Zhong Jin or Qiu Sheng leave her sight. Qiu Sheng had already gotten used to sleeping in the children’s room, so it wasn’t a big deal.

Back at home, everyone settled in, unpacked, freshened up, and then gathered in the living room again.

Zhong Jin sat on the sofa with Little Tong curled up in his lap, reading her bedtime story—a gritty crime novel based on real cases.

Rumor had it the author was a former forensic examiner.

Qiu Sheng was the type who loved thrillers but got scared easily. She always insisted on listening along, only to end up terrified. But now that she was sharing a room with Zhong Jin, her courage had grown. Wrapped in a blanket and hugging a plush dog for protection, she listened with rapt attention.

Du ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‍Xin, due to her professional instincts, was immediately drawn into the true-crime narrative. She even leaned against the coffee table, jotting down key details on her phone to analyze later, comparing her deductions with the author’s conclusions to sharpen her judgment.

Everyone was absorbed in their own way—except for poor Qiu Chen, who was easily spooked.

After sitting in the living room for a while and hearing the part where the police discovered a corpse hidden in a concrete wall, Qiu Chen stood up and moved to sit beside Zhong Jin.

But he quickly realized this was worse—his sharp eyesight meant he could read the text directly, and he noticed Zhong Jin had already skipped over the more gruesome descriptions.

So he got up again, scooped Little Tong into his arms, and held her close.

But the eerie atmosphere only made his mind wander to unsettling thoughts—like, for instance, Little Tong’s origins.

With a shudder, he set her down and retreated to his room.

Turning on the light, he saw the shelf against the wall lined with broken dolls, their oversized eyes taking up half their faces as they stared blankly at him.

Qiu Chen gathered the dolls into a pile in the corner.

Somehow, that made it even creepier.

He threw a jacket over them.

Feeling slightly better, he sat on the small bed, propped himself up with a pillow, and opened his laptop to work, hoping to distract himself.

Work did the trick—once his mind was occupied, the fear temporarily faded.

But that night, Qiu Chen still had nightmares. Waking up in a cold sweat, the dread he’d suppressed came rushing back.

He got up and left the bedroom, intending to ask Zhong Jin to sleep with him—or at least borrow Sang Biao for protection.

With a name like Sang Biao (Fierce Leopard), surely it had enough yang energy to ward off evil.

As he walked down the hallway, he noticed light coming from the living room. Peeking in, he saw Du Xin sitting on the carpet, glasses on, typing away on her laptop.

The sight of her calmed him slightly.

He approached and asked, "What are you doing?"

Du Xin looked up, adjusting her amber-framed glasses. "Brother, you’re still awake? I’m working on a case analysis."

She tilted her screen toward him. "It’s a drowning case study."

Qiu Chen had excellent eyesight and fast reading comprehension—before he could stop himself, he had already absorbed the detailed forensic report.

Now he was even more afraid to go back to his room.

So he fetched his own laptop, set it on the coffee table, and sat across from Du Xin, diving into his work.

He even warned her, "Just focus on your own stuff. Don’t mind me—and definitely don’t turn your screen toward me again."

Du Xin adjusted her glasses once more and, without another word, lowered her head and resumed typing. The quiet living room was soon filled with the steady clatter of keyboard strokes.

When Little Tong got up to pee and pushed open the bedroom door to come out, wearing her small miner's light as usual for her nightly house inspection, she was met with this sight.

In the living room late at night, a floor lamp was on, and two overachievers were hunched over their desks, studying diligently.

For Little Tong, there was no more terrifying scene than this.

Afraid they might drag her into their study session, she immediately decided to skip her inspection tonight. The chubby child turned around and silently scurried back to her room, slamming the door shut with a loud thud.

Qiu Chen suddenly heard the sound of a door closing but saw no one when he looked back.

He turned to Du Xin warily, "Did you just hear a door close?"

Du Xin, who entered a state of complete focus whenever she studied, looked bewildered. "No? I didn’t hear anything."

Qiu Chen paused, then pleaded in a negotiating tone, "Could you stay up and work with me until dawn tonight?"

Du Xin: "......" Though confused, remembering he had treated her to a Michelin-starred meal, she kindly agreed. "Fine."

Around 6 a.m., as the first light of dawn crept over the horizon, Zhong Jin got up as usual for his morning jog. Pushing open his bedroom door, he happened to run into Qiu Chen and Du Xin, each hugging a laptop and yawning as they shuffled into their respective rooms.

During their daily morning run, Zhong Jin and Qiu Sheng jogged along the coastal path under the morning glow.

Little Tong, wearing a tiny helmet, zoomed ahead on her electric scooter. A small pinwheel was tied to the handlebars, spinning wildly in the wind. She rode with one hand on the handlebar while waving the other in circles, mimicking the pinwheel’s motion.

Zhong Jin scolded her from behind, and the chubby kid quickly gripped the handlebars with both hands again.

As he ran forward, Zhong Jin turned to Qiu Sheng and said, "Your brother and Du Xin seemed to have worked all night—they only went back to their rooms at dawn."

Qiu Sheng was stunned. "Is the outside world really that competitive now?"

When they returned home after the run, Qiu Chen and Du Xin were indeed still asleep, not even waking up for breakfast.

Since summer vacation began, Little Tong would always take a nap after breakfast following her morning exercise. But last night, having skipped her nightly patrol, she was unusually energetic today, showing no signs of sleepiness.

After finishing her daily cartoon quota early, Little Tong knelt by the glass window, peering outside for a while. Realizing the neighbors hadn’t turned on their TV today, she stood up, steadied herself against the window, and ran over to Zhong Jin on the sofa.

She patted his knee. "Let’s play, Dad."

Zhong Jin felt a headache coming on just hearing the words "Let’s play."

During Little Tong’s vacation, they had already been to amusement parks, aquariums, swimming pools, hiking trails, resorts, and shopping malls—countless times.

Even special forces training wasn’t this intense.

Zhong Jin glanced toward the hallway, silently willing his brother-in-law to appear and drag this perpetual-motion machine of a child away to study.

As if answering his desperate plea, a bedroom door did swing open—but it was Du Xin who rushed out.

Du Xin, carrying her laptop bag, hurried toward the door. Spotting Zhong Jin and the others, she quickly waved. "I’m heading to work. I have to report by 10 a.m."

Qiu Sheng stood up. "We saved breakfast for you. Not eating?"

"No time! I overslept because of last night’s all-nighter."

While changing shoes at the entryway, Qiu Sheng packed steamed buns and corn for her to eat on the way.

Zhong Jin leaned back on the sofa as Little Tong tied colorful rubber bands into his hair, already having fashioned several spiky little pigtails.

When Qiu Sheng returned to the couch, he asked, "You seem much closer to Du Xin this time."

Back in Beijing, Qiu Sheng and Du Xin had met once or twice—usually when Yu Feiyang invited them for meals and brought Du Xin along. They were acquaintances, but not close.

Yet this time, ever since Du Xin arrived, Zhong Jin noticed that Qiu Sheng acted far more familiar with her than before. Maybe it was just his imagination.

Qiu Sheng sat down on her usual spot on the sofa and said calmly, "When someone’s staying at our place, of course I should be welcoming."

"Mm." Zhong Jin fell silent, wincing as Little Tong tugged too hard on his hair.

She immediately stopped braiding and gently patted his head, even blowing on it softly. "Blow on it, and it won’t hurt," she whispered.

Zhong Jin groaned. "Who invented two-month-long summer breaks?"

"Teachers need to live too," Qiu Sheng sighed.

She glanced at Zhong Jin’s exhausted face, then back toward the hallway, lowering her voice.

"Do you think my brother’s deliberately messing up his sleep schedule to avoid babysitting?"

Zhong Jin closed his eyes, replaying Qiu Chen’s movements from last night, analyzing the unusual behavior.

Finally, with his head full of colorful little pigtails, Zhong Jin solemnly declared, "Don’t read novels in front of him tonight. Pretty sure it scared him."