《Once Upon a Time in a Foreign Land》Chapter 022 : Duanmu Shanquan
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Shanquan and the girl exited through the back door of the building. They did this for security reasons. The back yard of the building was roughly the same size as the front yard. From the back door, they walked towards a small door in the back fence wall. Behind the door, there was a passage that led to the station.
"Now, where are we going, Sir?"
"I'm already starving. How about we have breakfast first at one restaurant at the subway station?"
The girl's face became glittering after hearing Shanquan's answer. Shanquan smiled. His stomach was already screaming to be filled with food. He was sure that she also felt more or less the same as him. The girl's backpack was huge compared to the girl's body. Shanquan was amazed yesterday that the girl could run while carrying such a big bag. Despite its enormous size, the backpack looked very heavy. Shanquan couldn't bear to let the hungry-looking girl have to walk carrying such a heavy load.
"Let me carry your backpack," said Shanquan.
"No, Sir! I'm used to it," said the girl.
"Never mind! Please, don't refuse. I feel bad to see you carry such a heavy burden while I'm just watching."
"Then let me carry your bag." The girl said while pointing at the bag Shanquan was carrying. This Songfei's bag seemed indeed much lighter than the girl's backpack.
"Okay! I think it's fair," said Shanquan.
After exchanging bags, the two moved towards the station at the crossroads. Because they were hungry, they could not move as fast as they were full. Arriving there, they directly headed to the food stall. The mall at this subway station was not big. There were not too many shops selling food either. But as long as there was proper food, it was enough for them.
Shanquan ate very well. Usually, he ate four times a day. In fact, when he was young, he ate five times a day with large portions of food. Even then, sometimes, he still added more portions every time he ate. But since twelve years ago, he had tried to limit himself to eating only four times a day, and even then only with reasonable portions. He also rarely had more for seconds. It differed greatly from in the past when he could eat two or three servings at once.
"So your name is Duanmu?" The girl started the conversation. Several times Hanrong had called Shanquan "Mr. Duanmu." So it's not unusual for the girl to mention it.
"Right." Shanquan nodded. "Is there anything strange?" Shanquan asked that because the girl had a certain facial expression on. The facial expression that people used to show when Shanquan introduced himself.
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"Is that the 'Duanmu' Family?"
"That's right. It is indeed the 'Duanmu' Family."
The girl nodded. "Turns out I've spent the night with someone who isn't an ordinary person."
Shanquan laughed. "I'm just an ordinary person. Just happened to be born into that family."
"Yes, it's the same thing. That means you're not an ordinary person."
Shanquan smiled. Based on his experience, this was indeed the most difficult thing when introducing himself.
"My name is Lüqiu." The girl said her name as she pressed her palms together in front of her chest.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Lüqiu," said Shanquan. He smiled.
The girl laughed. Shanquan didn't know exactly why. But he guessed the girl felt that the two of them were in a ridiculous situation right now. It's natural for people to get to know each other and then just spend the night together. The two of them even spent the night together and then got acquainted. This was really an uncommon thing.
Shanquan wanted to know more about the life the girl had lived so far. So he thought now would be a good time to ask a few questions. He hoped the girl wouldn't mind sharing her story.
"You move from one relative to another like this your whole life, so what about your school?"
"When I was in elementary school, I often changed schools. However, I did homeschooling in junior high and high school. I only lived in elementary school for four years. I also finished junior high and high school much faster than I should have."
"So it means you graduated from high school a lot earlier than people your age?"
The girl nodded. There was pride in her eyes.
"Does that mean you're really smart?"
The girl shook her head. "Maybe because I can focus more on studies than the other kids."
"Don't you feel lonely or have no friends?" Shanquan stared in surprise.
"I get to know kids my age who live near the houses of relatives I live in. So you can't say that I don't get along at all."
"Never had a hard time fitting in?"
"Of course, it's not easy. But it's no different from before. When I change schools, I also have to always adjust to new friends."
Shanquan nodded. What this girl felt, of course, she did not know exactly because she had never experienced it. But at least Shanquan hoped he could understand a little more if he knew more.
After they were full, they inched away from the food stall. Shanquan said, "Do you want to come to the surface now?"
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Lüqiu Yingyue, the girl, looked at Shanquan with an astonished look. As if asking for an explanation.
"I'm afraid the thugs were still trying to find you up there this morning. Better to stay underground for a while. Of course, it's much better if you go to another area. I think it might be good if you go to Yuehming to meet your relatives. It's definitely safer for you than wandering around alone."
"But I still have three more days. I'm afraid I will not be able to walk freely after I meet with my relatives. Actually, I don't know them either. Even though they are my relatives, to me, they are strangers. In fact, I think you are more familiar to me than them."
This girl is so weird!
Shanquan looked at the girl in amazement. This girl seemed reluctant to be with her family. Shanquan knew he had to be extra careful. "Regarding what happened last night. Do you think we shouldn't go to the police?"
The man's question made the girl put on a doubtful face. In a low voice, the girl said, "What about the building custodian from earlier? If we report this matter, I am afraid he will be in trouble."
Shanquan smiled. He tried to calm her down. "If Hanrong's superior had asked, we could have said that Hanrong, the custodian of the building, had indeed asked permission to go home before the incident. Let me take over the responsibility later."
The girl still looked unsure of Shanquan's words. "As good citizens, of course, we should report to the authorities if we see a crime." The girl stopped talking. Her brow furrowed. There was a look of conflict on her face.
"But…..?" This time Shanquan tried to continue the girl's words.
The girl looked straight ahead. "I don't know how to explain it." She stopped talking again. After about five seconds, she continued her speech. "I've had a terrible experience when I reporting a crime. There were some consequences that I had to face."
The girl stopped talking again. Then looked at Shanquan and continued. "And it wasn't just once. It's happened three times in my life. Even the last one was really annoying because it dragged me into trouble."
Hearing that, Shanquan was stunned.
This girl had experienced bad things regarding legal action. I better not push it any further.
"Okay, if that is the case. How about for a while you just rest at my house? Of course, if you don't mind."
The girl gasped. Shanquan guessed that such a thing was what the girl had been waiting for.
"Will my presence at your house not disturb you and your friends?"
"Of course not. In fact, we would be delighted," said Shanquan.
Shanquan felt that this time he was thinking and behaving strangely. An incident like this was not an ordinary thing that he should just ignore. As a grown man, of course, he was always aware that he had an obligation to report crimes that occurred around him. Shanquan also knew that he was already involved in this incident. Being silent meant that he had allowed a crime to occur.
He knew that his decision not to report it was unfair to the person who was the victim of the crime. For example, the woman who seemed to be the victim of a kidnapping, as this girl told. Silently means that Shanquan also had a hand in this crime, so it's not just letting it go, but Shanquan may have become part of the crime itself.
Shanquan could understand that many people didn't want to get too involved. As this girl said, being a witness to a crime has consequences. Not to mention the complicated and tedious procedure. Many people do not want their lives to be disrupted because they have to be witnesses. Even further, in this case, if there really had been a kidnapping as they suspected, then this girl's safety was in danger.
Thinking that far, Shanquan felt that this girl's meeting with him was not a coincidence. It might be an introduction arranged by the universe for Shanquan to enter this girl's life, or maybe vice versa, for this girl to enter Shanquan's life. After all, since this girl refused to involve the authorities, as well as declined to meet her family, then Shanquan, at least for the time being, was the one who had to take responsibility for this girl's safety. Half of him felt that the best way was to contact the police and this girl's family, but the other half of him wanted to be the one to take care of this girl. It was really confusing. This time, Shanquan felt he could not understand himself.
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