Chapter 1

Jiang Xiaolu was late again today.

The third time this month.

Today was a sunny day, and the sun shone down warmly. The leaves were lined up in groups of two or three on the small road in the family compound, waiting for the sanitation workers to collect them. When the autumn wind blew, they trembled and turned, as if they were struggling for the last time.

Jiang Xiaolu rushed out of the house with a rubber band in her mouth, muttering to herself while tying her hair.

"Its broken, its broken..."

Her mother was wiping the dining table with a rag, and she didnt even raise her eyelids when she heard the sound.

"I told you to get up, but you pretended not to hear me. Youre always late. I tell you, we finished our meal long ago and didnt leave any for you. If youre hungry, go find a way out."

Jiang Xiaolu hurried to the door to put on her shoes. Her new high heels were a bit tight. She bent over and lifted her heels with difficulty, and she was not forgiving: "I didnt ask you to leave any for me. If youre late, the deduction will be mine. If I dont get a penny of salary in the future, Id be happy to starve to death."

Jiang Xiaolus mother was used to it. She went to the kitchen to turn on the faucet and twisted the rag neatly: "Yes, you are so smart and powerful. You can beat people up and send them to the police station."

Bringing up this again.

This matter stuck in Jiang Xiaolus mothers heart like a thorn, and she had to talk about it from time to time.

Jiang Xiaolu took a taxi a while ago. She had poor eyesight and got on a black car by mistake. The driver was not very careful and deliberately took a detour. The two had an argument. Jiang Xiaolu was a hot-tempered person. She went to the police station and stayed there for half a night before she got out.

Jiang Xiaolu opened her handbag and threw her cell phone, car keys and computer into it. She was not ashamed at all and was quite proud: "Of course, I am awesome."

I have only seen mothers who feel distressed when their daughters are wronged, but I have never seen such a mother. When she was bullied outside, she became ashamed.

Du Hui was so angry that she blurted out: "Get out, dont come back."

"Get out if you want to. Dont call me next time." Jiang Xiaolu opened the door, lifted her hair, and waved to her mother with a smile: "Bye."

The door slammed.

Du Huixin hurried out with the bread and a glass of milk that had just been heated from the oven: "Hey - is she really gone?"

The young aunt who helped clean the house stood in the living room dumbly, at a loss: "Ah, shes gone."

"Why dont you stop her!" Du Huixin looked at the plate of bread and eggs in her hand, threw it on the table, and began to complain: "I didnt know if I had eaten when I came back in the middle of the night yesterday. I secretly took out the refrigerator and didnt heat up the milk before drinking it. It was ice cold. I didnt have a hot meal in the morning, and then I was filled with cold wind. How can I feel comfortable? Its already this time, and Im still wearing shoes that expose my feet. Im cold from my feet. I dont listen to you no matter how many times I tell you."

"You tell me, if you make your mother worry like this every day outside, how worried will she be at home?"

The young aunt lowered her head, concentrating on cleaning the phone, and didnt dare to speak. Let Du Huixin chatter there by herself, anyway, its not the first or second time.

Every time the mother and daughter quarrel, its like this. One of them is so angry with the other that she leaves, leaving the other at home, dragging her endlessly like a demon. When she gets tired of nagging, she stops.

"Forget it, eat it if you want, or not." Du Huixin sighed at last, hunched over and picked up the milk and poured it into the sink: "My enemy..."

On this side, Jiang Xiaolu rushed downstairs and was about to drive away.

Speaking of Jiang Xiaolus job, its also very impressive. He is a customer manager of a trust company in Beijings famous financial street. He was also recruited as a small salesperson at the beginning. After several years of hard work, he has good performance. Last year, he was promoted to the title of manager, and his salary doubled. He specializes in helping people manage their finances.

Its called financial management, but what is financial management? Its just to trick rich people into investing. Its a business that makes money from money. They talk about how good their stock funds are, and beg people to put money in, just to make a commission when the boss is in a good mood.

It looks glamorous on the surface.

After the peak of going to work and school, most people have left. The yard is very quiet. Occasionally, there are a few old men and women listening to opera on the radio basking in the sun. The heroic "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy" echoes in the empty yard.

"Bandits often appear in this area.

I just hope the sun will come out in the deep mountains.

Let the mountains and rivers change their clothes. Wow..."

Someone ran over from a distance and shouted to her: "Xiaolu! Xiaolu!"

Jiang Xiaolu turned around.

Li Chaocan, wearing a sailor shirt and gray sports trousers, jumped to her side with sweat all over his head.

Sweaty and smelly.

Jiang Xiaolu wrinkled his nose: "What are you doing? Im going to be late, Im in a hurry."

Li Chaocan smiled: "Dont worry, its late anyway. I havent seen you for a long time, and you turned your face away after you ordered me around?"

As he said that, he pinched Xiaolus face lightly.

Jiang Xiaolu ignored his frivolous joke and opened his hand with a snap: "Why are you doing morning exercises at this time?"

Li Chaocan raised his legs high on the spot, panting: "I was on duty yesterday and just came back."

Li Chaocan, Jiang Xiaolus neighbor, is an ambitious young man and is currently a police officer in a community police station.

Speaking of the grievances and hatreds between Jiang Xiaolu and him, we have to start from when she was six years old and just moved into this family compound with her mother.

I recall that it was the early summer of 199x. Li Chaocan was standing on his balcony with the Type 38 rifle that his father had fooled him with, aiming at it. From a distance, he saw a group of three people approaching slowly in his sight.

The one in front was Li Chaocan’s acquaintance, Uncle Zheng, who lived in front. Uncle Zheng was holding a suitcase in his hand, striding with his head held high, looking very happy, as if he had something to be happy about.

Following behind him were Jiang Xiaolu and her mother.

The young woman was wearing a long skirt, which looked like what the Soviets wore for a dance party, quite grand.

She held the little girl’s hand with one hand, and also held a camphorwood suitcase like the one in Zheng Hewen’s hand with the other hand. She followed behind him without being humble or arrogant, and smiled politely at everyone she met.

On the other hand, the little girl was very rustic. It was a hot day. She wore maroon nylon pants and yellow sandals. Her hair was very thick and messily braided into two pigtails. She kept her head down and twisted two fingers in front of her clothes. Her face could not be seen at all.

Li Chaocan thought to himself, this sister is really a country bumpkin.

The target was gradually approaching in his sight. Li Chaocan put down the newspaper gun and changed his weapon. He put the plasticine bullet on the bow, stretched the rubber band, and aimed at the target.

Three, two, one.

Fire!

The bullet flew out with a whoosh, and Li Chaocan quickly disappeared under his balcony. Only a muffled sound was heard outside.

The rustic little girl covered her forehead and fell into the roadside flower bed with a plop.

Her mother was walking in front. When she heard the sound, she turned around, her face pale, and hurried to pull her.

Li Chaocan was about to laugh, and secretly showed her eyes on the balcony to watch her mother scold her.

"Why cant you walk? I told you to watch carefully, but you didnt listen!"

When she first arrived at such a place, she wanted to leave a good impression and be cautious, but she ended up causing such a shameful incident. Jiang Xiaolus mother, who is so strong-willed, felt very embarrassed.

"Forget it, forget it, come and see if you are broken?" Uncle Zheng, who was walking in the front, pulled the little girl up and squatted beside her, asking about her well-being, showing great concern.

The little girl was stunned by the beating, and she probably didnt know how she fell in. She slowly put down her hand covering her forehead, which scared her mother.

Li Chaocan saw the little girls appearance clearly!

Oh, she is quite fair!

The chubby little face and chubby nose are very smart, and the most conspicuous thing is the red bump on the forehead.

The pain on the forehead and the scolding of her mother made Jiang Xiaolu, who was originally honest and timid, rub her eyes and cry aggrievedly.

It was lively now.

Li Chaocans mother was doing housework in the house. When she heard the crying outside, she walked to the window. Her heart sank. She turned to the balcony and saw the culprit crouching and watching the fight!

"I knew it was you!" Mother Li shouted loudly, and without saying anything, she grabbed Li Chaocans ears and walked out: "Go and apologize quickly!"

Li Chaocan was carried downstairs like a rabbit, and he was very embarrassed to be found out for doing something bad. He struggled: "It wasnt me, I didnt want to hit her!"

"If it wasnt you, then who was it!"

"I was... that was... I wanted to see the effective range of this slingshot my dad made for me!"

"Dont argue with me!"

As they were talking, the mother and son had already walked out of the building and came to the flower bed a few steps away. Zheng Hewen and Du Huixin were squatting there to coax the child. When they came up, Mother Li called Zheng Hewen.

"Old Zheng."

"Hey, Shufang." Zheng Hewen quickly put on his hat and stood up, a little embarrassed: "The child fell, I made you laugh."

Mother Li is a straightforward person: "What are you laughing at? I brought Chaocan to apologize to you."

"Chaocan was playing with a slingshot upstairs and accidentally hit this girl. After hitting her, she was scared and didnt dare to show her head on the balcony. I heard it and knew it was broken."

Mother Li squatted down, gently touched Jiang Xiaolus chubby hand, and said softly: "My dear, did your brother hurt you? Come, let auntie see."

Jiang Xiaolu was sobbing and was pulled into Mother Lis arms. Tears hung on her dark eyelashes, pitiful.

"Dont cry, auntie will blow for you, and let your brother apologize to you." Mother Li coaxed Jiang Xiaolu, turned back and looked at Li Chaocan majestically: "Hurry up!"

Surrounded by several adults, Li Chaocan didnt dare to be arrogant anymore, and apologized to Jiang Xiaolu with his hands behind his back with his eyebrows down.

"Im sorry."

Reluctantly.

Jiang Xiaolu stammered and looked at Li Chaocan, feeling a little aggrieved.

Mother Li laughed heartily: "Dear girl, shake hands with your brother, you will be good friends from now on, dont be afraid. If he dares to hit you again, auntie will deal with him."

Jiang Xiaolu looked up at her mother, got her approval, and stretched out her hand shyly.

She was not happy! Li Chaocan was not happy either! A country girl. Shaking hands with her would lower her status.

Two hands, one fat, white and tender. One black, dirty.

Two pairs of eyes, one wet, round. One narrow, thief-like.

When their eyes met, Jiang Xiaolu timidly shrank his shoulders, and they held hands together, turning hostility into friendship and becoming friends.

Mother Li stood up and joked, "Old Zheng, you havent introduced us sisters for such a long time."

Zheng Hewen stood aside. He was a grown man who was usually casual, but he couldnt help but blush when he mentioned this relationship.

"I was busy with my children... That, Shufang, this is Du Huixin, my wife."

"Huixin, this is Chen Shufang, the wife of my comrade-in-arms Li Qiang. We are all family. You just moved here, so you need to go out frequently. My wife is unfamiliar with the place. Please help her more in the future."

Everyone who lives here knows that Zheng Hewen has been divorced from his first wife for several years. He is thirty-six or thirty-seven years old. He is in his prime and has good conditions. He is a cadre of the Joint Logistics Division, has housing allocated to him, has a stable job, and has no children. It is only a matter of time before he remarries.

A while ago, it was said that he met a teacher through someones introduction. They were going well, but the teachers family lives in another place, and he is divorced with a daughter. Whether the two can get along is another matter.

Who knew Zheng Hewen was a quiet person, and today he really brought the mother and daughter here. It can be seen that he really wants to live a stable life together.

It is not easy for a woman to divorce and raise a child.

From now on, they will be neighbors who will see each other every day. Mother Li is a warm and generous person. She shook hands with Du Huixin and said with a smile: "We can talk about anything. Come to our house often in the future. Besides, I really like your little girl."

Before leaving, Mother Li also took Li Chaocan and asked him to say goodbye to his sister.

After a reluctant goodbye, Jiang Xiaolu turned his head, with a swollen forehead, and looked at Li Chaocan, then lowered his head, his eyes rolled, and thought, I will remember you.

Li Chaocan also thought, you country bumpkin, I will remember you too.

From then on, the harmonious friendship between the two children kicked off, and they fought for more than ten years.

Li Chaocan had a dream of being a hero since he was a child. He always wanted to do something big. I don’t know whether he was influenced by open-air movies when he was a child or boys from military families have some passion, so as soon as he finished high school, he responded to the call of the country and joined the army as a sailor.

He stayed in the army for six years, but his academic performance was not good enough. He failed to get into the military academy and was not promoted. Once he was demobilized, he came back and was assigned to a police station in a certain district as a police officer. He had just worked for half a year.

Li Chaocan is a person who can easily get out of the blow. After leaving the army, although he couldn’t change his mind for a while and was not very willing to do the job of a police officer, he worked passively every day, but he was soon brainwashed by the director of the police station in the area.

Comrade Chaocan, although the grassroots life is not as energetic as your life in the army, it is very rich! We take root in the masses, go deep into the people, and protect the well-being of one side. How great!

Li Chaocan squatted at the door and thought, thats right, a strong sense of responsibility suddenly rose in his chest, and from then on he left the community with a beautiful vision of being loyal to the country and upholding justice in the future, and he never looked back.

Li Chaocan is a smooth talker with good interpersonal relationships. Last time Jiang Xiaolu was arrested for beating someone, it was also thanks to his help.

"Hey, Xiaolu, do you know what we did a few days ago? Assisted the branch criminal police team to catch a wanted criminal who broke into the house and robbed. I caught him, hiding in the alley under my jurisdiction. It was dark and windy. We lurked until midnight, and when he relaxed his vigilance, I climbed the wall in three or two steps, broke into the window, and took him down with a move of a hungry tiger pouncing on its food!"

Li Chaocan was spitting and dancing, and Jiang Xiaolu had no expression on his face.

After talking for a long time, Li Chaocan felt bored: "Sister, please give me a reaction."

Jiang Xiaolu patted Li Chaocan on the shoulder and said earnestly: "Chaocan, as a policeman who accompanies old ladies to pick vegetables and connects old men to electricity meters every day, it is good to have heroism in your heart. Please pay attention to your health and take care of yourself. Dont immerse yourself in those unreliable movies every day."

"I really have to go."

Li Chaocan cursed: "Boring, you are so boring. Lets go."

Xiaolu put on round sunglasses, got in the car, and the red TT whizzed away.

Li Chaocan stared at the back of Jiang Xiaolus car for a few seconds, and then went home heroically and proudly while singing a play.

"We are the sons of workers and peasants

Our own troops are in front of us

The sound of spring thunder shakes the world

The rising sun is in my heart

Wait until the hundred-chicken feast to annihilate the stubborn bandits triumphantly

Resolutely demand to go to the battlefield Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow——"

Xiaolu bought this TT two years ago. At that time, it was for the convenience of commuting to get off work, and secondly, as a young girl, she didnt want to be inferior to others in the unit, fearing that she would be too shabby.

It was quite fresh when I bought the car at first, but after a long time, I realized that this car was actually a burden. The maintenance fee, road maintenance fee, parking fee, and fines paid in a year, there was meat everywhere.

I was in a hurry to go out, and I didnt have time to put on makeup.

Jiang Xiaolu turned the steering wheel with one hand and fished out the lipstick in her bag with the other hand. She twisted it with one hand and started to apply it in front of the rearview mirror.

I was distracted while driving. This road was narrow to begin with. When I saw a black car turning in from the street corner, Jiang Xiaolu didnt see it. She stared at the mirror and concentrated on wiping off the excess color on her lip line with her fingers.

The black car honked its horn, and Jiang Xiaolu came back to her senses. She stepped on the accelerator nervously, and the two cars met, and the distance between them was already very close.

The owner of the opposite car was obviously also shocked. He never expected that the person on the other side was an idiot who couldnt brake. He quickly turned the steering wheel. At this time, Jiang Xiaolu quickly braked, and there were two sharp sounds--

Big head hit big head.

It was almost stopped.

Everyone was in a hurry to go to work in the early morning, and everyone was angry. Jiang Xiaolus soul flew away. She took off her sunglasses and threw away her lipstick and got out of the car quickly. After getting out of the car, she was still very picky and glanced at the other car logo, and she wanted to raise her hand and slap herself in the face.

Under normal circumstances, the driver would scold if this happened. Do you know how to drive? Did you honk the horn? Did you leave a distance? Why did you rush up with your eyes closed!

Jiang Xiaolu was ready to be scolded, with a embarrassed smile on her face, waiting for the owner to get off, and bowed and bowed.

"Im sorry, Im really sorry!"

But the person on the other side didnt move at all.

This made Jiang Xiaolu a little nervous.

After waiting for a few seconds, the person didnt get out, but the window glass was lowered.

The owner of the car put one hand lazily on the steering wheel, his eyebrows were straight, and he seemed to have spent the night somewhere, with obvious fatigue in his eyes.

The glass was half lowered, and the man sat in the car, leaned out of the window and smiled at her: "Xiaolu, you were distracted just now."

Jiang Xiaolus face suddenly turned red.