Chapter 17: We All Grew Up on Qinhuai Street

When Qin Hongfei finally arrived, some relatives who had wasted their time taking the wrong route immediately began to mock her. “You’re only getting here now? We told you Route 29 was the wrong way…”

At the same time, Duoduo spoke up. “Why are you here again?”

The relative paused. “Again?”

Duoduo confirmed, “Yes. She came looking for me this morning. What’s this about Route 29?”

She’d arrived in the morning! That was several hours earlier than the rest of them! The relative was stunned for a moment—so Route 29 had actually been correct! Embarrassed, she tried to brush it off. Fortunately, Uncle and Aunt Qin, who were in high spirits at the prospect of seeing their daughter, didn’t mind. Even though they realized the relative must have led them astray, they offered consoling words instead, saying the unfamiliar paths in these parts made it easy to get lost.

Only then did the relative’s mood improve somewhat, though when she glanced at Qin Hongfei, she felt even more uneasy. If she had known the route was wrong, why hadn’t she explained it more clearly at the time?

Qin Hongfei couldn’t guess at her thoughts. Even if she had known, she wouldn’t have cared! She’d done more than enough already; even if she hadn’t offered a single word of warning, she wouldn’t have been in the wrong.

Besides, she hadn’t come here to argue about directions. “Duoduo, I just have one question—where is the hotel my sister is staying at? Just tell me, and I’ll leave.”

Duoduo opened her mouth to say she didn’t know—she didn’t want anything more to do with Qin Fei.

Qin Hongfei understood what the girl was thinking: she was afraid of being dragged down by Qin Fei’s troubles.

But it was only a question about a hotel, after all. Seeing how evasive she was being, Qin Hongfei’s tone turned cold. “Duoduo, you and my sister have known each other since grade school. You’ve been working together since junior high—it’s been three years now. Even if you don’t care about anything else, we all grew up on Qinhuai Street; we’re from the same hometown. I just want to know where my sister is. She was beaten up, she has no one here, and I don’t even know how she’s doing. If she were to kill herself, wouldn’t you wake up in a cold sweat every night, haunted by guilt?”

At the mention of suicide, Duoduo’s expression changed. Annoyed, she snapped, “Why should I lose sleep over it? I wasn’t the one who told her to do it!”

Remembering how Qin Fei had nearly dragged Qin Wanwan into trouble, and with Uncle and Aunt Qin present—people she hoped to impress so she could get closer to Wanwan—Duoduo stamped her foot and said sharply, “If we weren’t from the same hometown, who would want to come here with her anyway? She didn’t even finish junior high, and her mother is a lunatic…”

“Fine. You want to know where your sister is? Give me ten yuan, and I’ll tell you.”

Uncle Qin started to speak, but Aunt Qin stopped him. She was rather pleased to witness this scene. As an adult, she could see that Duoduo was buttering them up by stepping on Qin Hongfei, but so what? That crazy old woman in the main house was always picking fights with her, and her two daughters had been taught to disrespect their elders. It was about time they suffered a little, so they’d realize just how different they were from Wanwan.

Qin Hongfei looked at Duoduo deeply, but she didn’t get angry.

She’d seen all kinds of people in her life, and Duoduo’s transparent, opportunistic scheming was nothing new. She was just another fair-weather friend.

For the sake of finding Qin Fei, she took out ten yuan.

It wasn’t about the money: she’d have given one hundred if Duoduo had asked. To Hongfei, her sister’s life was far more important than any sum.

Duoduo hadn’t expected her to actually hand over the cash—ten yuan would take her two hours to earn as an extra in a bit part. Delighted, she took the money and told her the address of Qin Fei’s hotel. Though called a hotel, it was little more than a shabby inn.