Chapter Eleven: Passive

The young woman with round dimples showed no trace of awkwardness under the scrutiny of the two officers. She sat down confidently, pulled her phone from her bag, and began quietly fiddling with it. From time to time, she seemed to find something amusing, pressing her lips together to suppress a soft giggle. Each time someone entered the Major Crimes office, she would glance up expectantly. To prevent her from greeting every newcomer with “An Changpu,” Tian Yang took it upon himself to greet each person first, subtly signaling that the visitor was not the one she awaited.

The young woman seemed to understand Tian Yang’s approach and always responded with a sweet smile.

At last, just as Tian Yang, Qin Ruonan, and even the later-arriving Mo Dou were growing curious, the main character made his grand entrance.

“An Changpu!”

The moment An Changpu stepped into the office, he was greeted by the simultaneous shouts of Tian Yang and Mo Dou, which startled him. He hadn’t noticed the unfamiliar young woman in the office—or if he had, he hadn’t connected her presence to himself. As usual, he smiled back at the two, saying, “You’re so enthusiastic this morning, you’re making my skin crawl! I don’t handle your paychecks or your benefits, so what’s got you all excited to see me?”

“They may not be excited, but I am!” The dimpled young woman spoke up before anyone else, already getting to her feet as she confirmed that An Changpu was the one she’d been waiting for. “My parents always say you’re very busy, which is why the meal we’d planned kept getting postponed. If we keep putting it off, who knows when it’ll happen? I got so tired of their nagging that I decided to come see you myself while you were off duty today.”

An Changpu was momentarily taken aback, his brows knitting as he struggled to recall who she was. After a few seconds, realization dawned. “You must be Tao Yinyin?”

“That’s right! You guessed it!” The young woman—Tao Yinyin—smiled, her large eyes curving into crescent moons. She looked him up and down. “The photo my parents showed me was from your middle school days—blurry and unclear. You’re taller in person than I expected!”

Compared to Tao Yinyin’s poise, An Changpu seemed rather awkward in the face of this unexpected visitor. His smile was uneasy, unsure how to respond.

“All right, I know you’re busy as a detective, so I won’t hold you up at work! I’ve seen you now, so I can report back to my family. But I bet they’ll call your parents to talk, so whatever comes next is your headache!” Tao Yinyin winked mischievously at An Changpu and slipped a small note with her number into his hand. “Here’s my number. Get in touch!”

With that, she waved goodbye to Tian Yang and left the office.

An Changpu stood clutching the note, dumbfounded and silent for a long time. Mo Dou couldn’t resist teasing him: “You’re in luck today! A beauty bomb first thing in the morning—must be dizzying!”

“So this is the blind date your family arranged?” Tian Yang had already pieced it together from the girl’s words.

An Changpu placed the slip of paper on the desk and nodded.

“Heavens, isn’t life unfair?” Mo Dou sighed dramatically. “Among us, you’re the good-looking one, and the handsome ones always get the prettiest blind dates!”

Tian Yang didn’t join in the teasing. Instead, he glanced at Qin Ruonan, who avoided his gaze, lowering her eyes. Her throat felt unbearably dry, as though she’d swallowed sun-baked sand.

“This is trouble. I was already worried I wouldn’t be able to dodge this, and now Tao Yinyin has come looking for me. If I go home, my parents might really nag me until I’m deaf, just like she said.” Far from excited by this sudden “romantic encounter,” An Changpu seemed more like a man facing a hot potato.

“You don’t like Tao Yinyin?” Tian Yang asked.

“It’s not that I like or dislike her. Our parents have known each other for years, but we barely know each other. Aside from names, there’s nothing else.” An Changpu scratched the back of his head, troubled. “I never thought blind dates made sense. Our work keeps us busy and our hours are unpredictable…”

“So you’re planning to turn her down?” Mo Dou caught the implication and couldn’t help feeling it was a pity.

“Not exactly. I’m a grown man—if she’s not fussing about my job, it’d be ungracious for me to reject her outright. It’d hurt her pride, and that’s not fair. Forget it, I’ll just play it by ear and see how things go.” He tossed the note into the drawer and called out to Qin Ruonan, “Let’s go. Fang Da’s wife will be back from her parents’ house today. Before that, we need to check both the train and bus stations.”

Qin Ruonan didn’t respond. She seemed dazed, as if her soul had been snatched away. Only after An Changpu called her several times did she snap to attention, her face flushing as she hurriedly gathered her things and followed him downstairs.

Watching them leave, Tian Yang glanced at the drawer where An Changpu had put the note, then sighed.

“What’s got you so glum, Tian?” Mo Dou, unaware of the undercurrents, assumed Tian Yang was worried about his own romantic prospects.

Tian Yang grinned, beckoned Mo Dou over, and whispered a few words in his ear before striding off, leaving Mo Dou with a bitter expression.

“Tian! I was just joking, and now you’ve given me all the errands!” Mo Dou complained without recourse, cursing himself for his loose tongue as he trudged off.

An Changpu had no idea that, thanks to him, Mo Dou’s workload had suddenly increased. Tao Yinyin’s unexpected appearance had thrown him completely off balance.

“What do you think I should do now?” After investigating at the train station and finding no evidence that Fang Wan had been there, An Changpu asked Qin Ruonan on the way to the bus station.

“I thought we agreed to check the bus station next?” Qin Ruonan looked at him, puzzled.

“I mean about Tao Yinyin—the girl who came to see me this morning. It should have been me inviting her, but I wasn’t exactly eager, and work’s been busy. I figured if I dragged my feet long enough, maybe she’d lose interest. Now she’s shown up, and I’m on the back foot!” An Changpu looked at Qin Ruonan, genuinely seeking her advice. “You see how it is—Tian Yang and Mo Dou are both bachelors, not much help. You’re the most reliable for this. At least you’re a woman; you should understand how women think!”

His words earned him a roll of the eyes from Qin Ruonan.

Though she rolled her eyes, Qin Ruonan hesitated. From morning until now, her thoughts had been a chaotic mess. The past aside, she realized she’d never truly let go. Seeing Tao Yinyin had thrown her into confusion.

“That depends what you want. Do you like her?” she asked, only to realize her voice sounded odd—tight and tense, as if someone were squeezing her throat.

An Changpu didn’t seem to notice. He gave a helpless smile. “I’m not so fickle that I’d fall for someone after one meeting. That’s not realistic.”

“She is very pretty,” Qin Ruonan said.

“There are plenty of pretty girls on the street. If I fell for every pretty face, I’d be in love as often as there are passengers during the Spring Festival rush. Don’t think I’m that shallow.”

“Then be someone who values substance,” she replied offhandedly. Given her current state, she could offer no real advice. Privately, she wanted to urge him to refuse, but what right did she have? What claim could she make?

Moreover, she was not one to believe that if she couldn’t have something, no one else should—such narrow and bitter thoughts were foreign to her.

She couldn’t help but recall how, years ago, she’d summoned all her courage to confess her feelings in a trembling letter, only to be met with cold indifference. She’d never feared rejection—anything was better than being ignored.

This question had haunted her ever since. Seeing him again, realizing she still cared while he’d forgotten her entirely, made the shame flare up anew, gnawing at her heart and driving her to lash out, armoring herself in prickly defenses.

But as her emotions cooled, Qin Ruonan began to understand that if An Changpu truly remembered nothing, her actions only humiliated herself further, making her seem odd and unlikable.

“You’re right! Since it’s happened, I might as well let it be. Blindly accepting or rejecting is just as bad. Maybe I shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss blind dates. Since she’s already made the first move, why not spend some time together and see?” An Changpu took her casual reply as sound advice and clapped her on the shoulder. “Thanks for the tip, pal!”