hotmtlnovel Chapter 1574 Exposed
Chapter 1574 Exposed
On Lunar New Year's Eve in Beijing, a heavy snow fell silently overnight.
When Qin Hao drew back the curtains in the early morning, the whole world was covered in a thick layer of white. The rooftops in the distance, the branches of trees nearby, and the road downstairs were all covered in snow, a vast expanse of white, as clean as a freshly washed canvas.
He yawned, intending to lie back down and take another nap. After all, as an orphan, it didn't matter where he spent the New Year.
Less than five minutes after I lay down, the phone on the bedside table started ringing.
Qin Hao reached for the phone and lazily said "hello".
"Old Qin! It's me! Liu Yuan!" Liu Yuan's excited voice came from the other end of the phone, mixed with the howling wind and snow and the crackling of firecrackers, making Qin Hao move the phone away a little.
"Why aren't you resting at home during the Spring Festival? Why are you calling so long distance? Are you here to wish me a Happy New Year?" Qin Hao said irritably.
"Hey, Lao Qin, could you buy some pastries for me and take them to Han Ling's house?" Liu Yuan's voice carried a hint of flattery and urgency.
"Get lost, I don't have time for that. Isn't it enough that you're already showing your own affection for your girlfriend? Why are you dragging me into it?"
"I originally planned to go by myself, but you kept delaying until the 28th of the twelfth lunar month before the holiday started, and I didn't have enough time."
"Old Qin, please help me this time. I'll treat you to a big meal when I get back to Beijing."
Listening to Liu Yuan's incessant chatter on the other end of the phone, Qin Hao impatiently interrupted him: "Just this once, and don't let it happen again!"
"Hehe, thanks! I'll give you the address, write it down. No. XX, XX Alley, Chongwen District. Her family lives in a courtyard house; there's a big locust tree in front of the door, so it's easy to find. Just buy some Daoxiangcun pastries; her mom loves them. Oh, and also buy some fruit, but don't buy anything too cheap, it'll seem insincere..."
"Alright, alright, I got it." Qin Hao hung up the phone immediately.
Outside the hotel, the snow was still falling. Qin Hao first went to Daoxiangcun to buy two boxes of pastries, then went to the fruit shop next door to buy a basket of apples and oranges. He stood by the roadside, hailed a taxi, gave them his address, and the car slowly drove towards Chongwen District.
Beijing's hutongs have a unique charm in the snow. The blue bricks and gray tiles are covered with white snow, long icicles hang from the eaves, and occasionally a few sparrows hop around in the snow, leaving a string of tiny footprints.
The taxi couldn't go any further into the alley, so Qin Hao paid the fare, got out, and trudged into the alley carrying his things.
After navigating through numerous alleyways and asking several elderly men passing by, I finally found out where Han Ling's house was. It was a small courtyard house, and sure enough, there was a large locust tree at the entrance. Its trunk was so thick that one person couldn't wrap their arms around it, and its branches were covered with snow, resembling an old man with white hair.
Just as Qin Hao was about to step into the courtyard, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.
The man stood at the other end of the alley, wearing a faded old cotton-padded jacket, his shoulders covered in snow, clearly having been standing there for some time.
"Xiao Ran, what a coincidence!" Qin Hao called out playfully, his voice echoing in the empty alley.
The figure trembled violently, as if struck by lightning, and turned around in astonishment. It was indeed Xiao Ran.
"Yes, it's quite a coincidence." Xiao Ran's voice was a little hoarse, and she avoided looking at Qin Hao: "You came to see Han Ling?"
Qin Hao looked at him with a mocking smile, a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth: "Aren't you the same?"
Xiao Ran's lips moved, but he didn't say a word. The expression on his face changed from astonishment to embarrassment, and then from embarrassment to panic.
Perhaps it was Qin Hao's shout of "Xiao Ran" that startled Han Ling in the inner room, because just as the two were talking, the courtyard gate creaked open.
Han Ling wore a light pink sweater with a white down jacket over it. Her hair was casually loose behind her head, and although she had no makeup on, she was still beautiful and charming.
The first person she saw was Xiao Ran, and she couldn't suppress the joy on her face. Her eyes lit up, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up. But her gaze immediately shifted to the side and she saw Qin Hao. Her expression froze instantly, as if she had been doused with a bucket of cold water, and her face changed drastically.
"Qin Hao, what brings you here?" Han Ling's voice was a little tense.
Qin Hao looked at her with a half-smile: "Should I not have come?"
Han Ling was speechless with embarrassment. She looked at Qin Hao, then at Xiao Ran, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something to smooth things over, but she couldn't utter a single word.
Seeing this, Xiao Ran steeled himself, walked up to Qin Hao, lowered his head, and said in a very low voice, "It's not what you think..."
"What do you mean?" Qin Hao asked directly.
Xiao Ran's face flushed red. He gritted his teeth, looked up at Han Ling, then turned back to Qin Hao, his voice filled with a desperate resolve: "I was the one who pursued Han Ling. If you have any problems, come at me. It has nothing to do with her."
Qin Hao ignored him completely, and walked up to Han Ling with the pastries in his hand: "Liu Yuan asked me to deliver these. I won't go in. Please give Liu Yuan's New Year's greetings to your mother."
Han Ling took the pastry, her fingers trembling slightly, her lips quivering as she tried to say something, but didn't know what to say.
Qin Hao glanced at Han Ling, his tone still calm: "You don't need to explain your relationship with Xiao Ran to me. Tell Liu Yuan yourself when he gets back."
Only after Qin Hao's figure completely disappeared into the white snow did Xiao Ran and Han Ling come to their senses. The two stood at the courtyard gate, their eyes meeting, neither speaking for a moment.
Han Ling looked at the snow on Xiao Ran's shoulders, knowing he had been standing outside for a long time. Her eyes reddened, and her voice choked with emotion: "You've been here for a long time, why didn't you come in?"
Although Xiao Ran was shivering from the cold and his lips had turned purple, he still stubbornly insisted, putting his hands in his pockets and shrinking his neck: "It hasn't been long."
"Come inside and warm up with me." Han Ling reached out and pulled Xiao Ran's sleeve, trying to drag him into the yard.
Xiao Ran resolutely broke free from her hand, took a step back, and shook his head: "I won't go in. I just suddenly wanted to see you, but I didn't expect... to cause you trouble."
Han Ling's hand froze in mid-air, her expression shifting from heartache to disappointment, and then to an indescribable bitterness: "Xiao Ran, I suddenly realize that it's incredibly difficult to get you to admit something."
Xiao Ran stopped in his tracks, frozen in place.
Then he heard Han Ling's soft voice coming from behind him, each word like a hammer blow to his heart: "Actually, I'm very happy that you could come today." She paused, her voice even softer: "Yes, especially happy."
Xiao Ran's Adam's apple bobbed: "But, Qin Hao, he..."
Han Ling smiled and said, "It's good that Liu Yuan knows. Actually, I've always wanted to make things clear to him, but I just haven't found the right opportunity. Besides, he's taken good care of me and my mother over the years, and I don't want to hurt him."
Xiao Ran finally turned around and looked at Han Ling's face, which remained bright even in the wind and snow. Something indescribable welled up in his eyes. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his throat seemed to be blocked by something, and he couldn't utter a single word.
Snowflakes fell gently, landing between the two of them as if separated by a white curtain.
……
On the other side, after returning to the hotel, Qin Hao took off his coat, which was soaked with snow, and hung it on the radiator to dry. Then he sat on the bed, picked up the phone, and dialed the number that Liu Yuan had called earlier.
The phone rang for a long time before the other end answered. It was an unfamiliar voice with a heavy Northeastern accent. The person promised to go and get help, then hung up.
Qin Hao waited a full fifteen minutes before the phone rang again.
"Old Qin?" Liu Yuan's voice came from the other end of the phone, panting as if he had run there: "Did you deliver the things? How is Han Ling? How is her mother's health?"
Qin Hao paused for two seconds, then said seriously, "I gave the things to Han Ling. However, I ran into Xiao Ran at Han Ling's door."
The other end of the phone suddenly went silent, so quiet you could hear the static of the electricity.
"Xiao Ran?" Liu Yuan's voice was slightly unsteady. "What was he doing at Han Ling's house?"
"Don't you understand?" Qin Hao's tone was calm, but every word was like a knife: "Xiao Ran is pursuing Han Ling, and judging from Han Ling's attitude, she hasn't rejected him."
Before he could finish speaking, Liu Yuan's roar came from the other end of the phone, making the receiver buzz: "Impossible! Han Ling would never be with Xiao Ran! You must have seen wrong!"
"Liu Yuan." Qin Hao's voice was calm, yet it felt like a bucket of cold water being poured over Liu Yuan's head: "Nothing in this world is impossible. If you're so confident, why hasn't Han Ling agreed to be your girlfriend in four years?"
In an instant, all that could be heard on the other end of the phone was the sound of wind and snow hitting the receiver, whooshing and howling, like someone was crying.
Qin Hao waited a while before slowly speaking: "The one who tied the knot must untie it. If you have anything to say, ask Han Ling directly when you get back."
A muffled thud came from the other end of the phone, like a fist hitting a wall, followed by a busy tone.
……
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the streets and alleys of Beijing were still filled with the smell of firecrackers. Red scraps of paper covered the road and were trampled into the snow, looking like red flowers.
At the other end of the alley, Xiao Ran and Han Ling walked side by side from a distance. Xiao Ran wore a slightly worn cotton-padded coat, while Han Ling wore a red down jacket. The two walked very close, their shoulders almost touching. Xiao Ran said something, and Han Ling lowered her head and smiled, a gentle and shy smile, the kind of expression one only shows in front of someone they like.
The three people's gazes met in the air.
Liu Yuan's eyes reddened, his lips trembled, and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked. Han Ling's smile froze on her face, her steps halted, and she seemed rooted to the spot. Xiao Ran's expression shifted from calm to tension, and he instinctively took half a step forward, blocking Han Ling's path.
After a brief silence, Liu Yuan strode up to Xiao Ran and, without saying a word, punched Xiao Ran hard in the chin.
With a muffled thud, Xiao Ran leaned back, staggered a couple of steps, and fell hard on his backside in the snow. A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, starkly visible against the white snow.
"Liu Yuan, you—" Han Ling exclaimed, rushing forward to support Xiao Ran, then turning to glare at Liu Yuan with eyes full of anger and heartache.
Liu Yuan shook off Han Ling's outstretched hand, glared fiercely at Xiao Ran, his lips trembled a few times, but in the end he said nothing, turned and strode away. His figure looked particularly lonely in the wind and snow, his feet sinking deep into the snow, and he quickly disappeared around the corner of the alley.
Han Ling stood there, looking in the direction Liu Yuan had disappeared. Her lips moved, and her eyes reddened, but she ultimately did not utter a sound.
Xiao Ran got up from the snow, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, looked at Han Ling, and whispered, "I'm sorry."
Han Ling shook her head, and tears finally fell, silently sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto the snow, melting into small pits.
……
On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, before the festive atmosphere had even faded, shops in Zhongguancun gradually reopened. The streets returned to their usual bustling state, with people coming and going and cars flowing by. Firecracker debris was swept to the roadside, piling up into small red hills.
"Haoran Technology" officially started operations. Qin Hao arrived at the office early in the morning, sorted out the documents he hadn't finished before the New Year, and went over the layout of the new issue of promotional brochures. Zhang Cuihua and Li Xiulan also arrived on time, carrying a thick stack of brochures to the street corner to begin the new year's distribution work.
However, Liu Yuan did not appear until 10 a.m.
Qin Hao sensed something was amiss. Although Liu Yuan could be unreliable at times, he was never careless about work and would never be late without a reason. He picked up the phone and dialed the number of the public phone in Liu Yuan's hometown, but it took quite a while for someone to answer.
"Hello, could you please find Liu Yuan?"
"Liu Yuan?" The other person's voice had a heavy accent. "He went back to Beijing on New Year's Eve."
Qin Hao's heart skipped a beat. He put down the phone, grabbed his coat, and went out the door.
He went back to school first. Winter break wasn't over yet, and the campus was deserted. There wasn't a single person on the playground, except for a few cleaners shoveling snow. The dormitory building's door was half-open, and his own footsteps echoed in the corridor.
Qin Hao went up to the third floor and pushed open the dormitory door. It was empty; the beds were bare, the blankets rolled up. Only Xiao Ran's bed had a thin blanket, but he wasn't there either. Wang Meng, Chen Qiming, and Zhang Wei had all gone home for the New Year and hadn't returned yet.
Qin Hao went downstairs again and found the dormitory supervisor. The supervisor was sitting in the gatehouse, eating sunflower seeds and reading a newspaper.
"Grandpa, have you seen Liu Yuan? He's the one on the third floor, tall and thin, with pimples on his face."
The dormitory supervisor thought for a moment, cracked open a sunflower seed, and said slowly, "You mean that young man? He came back on New Year's Eve. He didn't stay on the third floor; he stayed in that empty room on the first floor. These days, he goes out during the day and comes back drunk at night."
……
Around 9 p.m., a series of eerie howls echoed from the dormitory entrance. The sounds were intermittent, like someone singing or crying out, and they sounded particularly jarring in the quiet winter night.
Qin Hao listened intently; the voice sounded like Liu Yuan's. His heart sank, and he quickly put on his coat and ran outside.
Downstairs at the school dormitory, several men in security guard uniforms were punching and kicking a man. The man was curled up on the ground, his hands covering his head, mumbling something incoherently. The streetlights shone on him, and Qin Hao immediately recognized the dark blue down jacket he was wearing.
It's Liu Yuan.
"What are you doing!" Qin Hao shouted and rushed over in three steps.
Several security guards stopped what they were doing, looked up at Qin Hao, their faces full of impatience. The leader was a burly security captain with a red armband that read "Security." He yelled at Qin Hao, "This is none of your business! Mind your own business!"
Qin Hao ignored him and squatted down to check on Liu Yuan. Liu Yuan's face was covered in bruises, his mouth was cut, and blood was streaming from his nose. His down jacket was covered in footprints and mud, and he looked a pitiful sight. But he didn't seem to feel any pain and was still shouting and yelling, his voice hoarse like a broken bellows.
"Old Qin, four years, four years!" Liu Yuan became even more agitated upon seeing Qin Hao, trying to break free from the security guards' grasp: "Why didn't she say she didn't like me sooner? Why didn't she say so sooner? I chased after her like an idiot for four years, four years!"
"Stop talking nonsense!" The security captain grabbed Liu Yuan by the collar, lifted him up from the ground, and cursed viciously, "Damn it, you've drunk some horse piss and don't know who you are anymore, huh? You dare to hit people, I'll teach you a lesson!"
As they spoke, they pushed Liu Yuan to the ground, and the other security guards began punching and kicking him. The leather shoes made a dull thud as they kicked him, and Liu Yuan groaned a few times, curling up even tighter.
"Have you had enough?" Qin Hao's voice wasn't loud, but it was as cold as if it came from an ice cellar.
The security captain glanced at him, pointed to the red armband on his arm, and said arrogantly, "We're the school's security guards, here to maintain order. This kid's drunk and shouting, disturbing the school's order! We're just doing our duty. If you don't want trouble, get lost and mind your own business—"
Before he could finish speaking, the security captain felt a blur before his eyes, followed by a sharp pain in his stomach. He collapsed to the ground like a shrimp, letting out a pig-like scream: "Damn it—brothers, get him!"
The other security guards immediately surrounded Qin Hao.
However, less than ten seconds later, the security captain heard a series of heavy thuds as objects fell to the ground. He struggled to lift his head and was shocked to find his men in the same position as him, their cries of pain echoing throughout the room.
"You little brat, you dare to beat up a security guard!" the security captain roared through gritted teeth, his fat face trembling. "This isn't over. If you're not fired, I'll change my surname to yours!"
Qin Hao kicked the other man to the ground and said coldly, "You don't deserve to share my surname."
"Fine, you've got guts! We'll see about that!"
Qin Hao kicked him to the ground again, placed one foot on his chest, and looked down at him: "Did I say you could leave?"
The security captain was panting heavily from being trampled, his face flushed red, and his voice trembled: "You...you're going too far!"
Qin Hao sneered and increased the pressure on his foot: "You're allowed to bully my classmate, but I'm not allowed to bully you? Where did your arrogance go? Didn't you say you were going to teach us a lesson? Come on, I'm right here, get up then."
None of the security guards on the ground dared to move; they all huddled on the ground, not daring to breathe.
Just then, a loud shout came from behind.
"Stop! Who gave you permission to fight on campus? And you even hit the security guard! What department are you in? What's your name? Who's your advisor?!"
Qin Hao turned around and saw a middle-aged, overweight man in a suit and tie walking angrily towards him, followed by two uniformed men. The man was probably in his forties, with a slicked-back hairstyle, a round belly, and a swaying gait like a roly-poly toy.
Before Qin Hao could even speak, the security captain at his feet shouted at the newcomer, his voice full of grievance and smugness: "Cousin! You'd better control your school's students! Look at how he beat us up, is there no law anymore!"
The middle-aged fat man's face darkened. He coughed twice and scolded in a low voice, "Ahem, I've told you before that you should address people by their titles at school! Call them Director!"
"Yes, yes, Director, please take action!" The security captain nodded repeatedly.
The middle-aged fat man then turned to Qin Hao, his face stern as he gave orders: "I'm talking to you! Let go right now! What kind of person are you? Do you even have any semblance of a student? Fighting and brawling at school late at night, even hitting security guards, are you trying to rebel?"
Qin Hao not only didn't let go, but instead increased the pressure under his feet, causing the security captain to break out in a cold sweat from the pain. His fat face twitched, and his mouth was wide open, but he couldn't make a sound.
"Who is this idiot?" Qin Hao turned his head, glanced at the middle-aged fat man, and said with a contemptuous tone.
The security captain managed to squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth: "He...he's our security director...please let go...I can't breathe..."
The security chief was furious, his face turning green. He pointed at Qin Hao's nose, his finger trembling, and yelled, "You're swearing! I'm warning you, if you don't let go, I'll call the police!"
"Go ahead and yell, I was just about to call the police anyway." Qin Hao looked at him contemptuously, a cold smile playing on his lips.
"You're going to call the police?" The security chief was so angry his nose was crooked, and his voice rose eight octaves: "You still think you're right?"
Qin Hao pointed to Liu Yuan, who was still lying on the ground covered in injuries: "Of course I'm in the right. I saw this group of people beating up my classmate, and I did it as a hero."
The security captain and the other security guards all turned pale.
"You're talking nonsense!" the security captain struggled to shout. "This kid is drunk and shouting all over the place. We're just maintaining order on campus! You come up here and start hitting people."
“That’s right!” Another security guard got up from the ground, covering his swollen face, and chimed in, “You beat us up without our knowledge, the director absolutely cannot let him off easily!”
Qin Hao sneered and said unhurriedly, "School hasn't started yet, and there are hardly any people living in the dorms. My classmate was in a bad mood and got drunk, so what right do you have to come up and hit him? You're school security guards; your primary responsibility should be protecting the lives and property of teachers and students on campus. We students and taxpayers pay you to come here, not to let you ride roughshod over students!"
By this time, some students and teachers who had returned to school early had gathered around. Hearing Qin Hao's words, they all nodded in agreement.
"Good! Well said!" A boy wearing glasses clapped his hands. "I've disliked these security guards for a long time! They can't catch any thieves, yet they boss us students around like they're royalty!"
"Exactly!" a girl chimed in, her voice clear and bright. "Their salaries come from our tuition fees. Even a dog knows to wag its tail when it's owned, but these people turn around and bite their owner!"
"That's right! I support this student!"
"The security guard assaulted someone and still thinks he's in the right?"
The crowd grew larger and larger, the discussions became louder and louder, and some people even took out their cameras to take pictures. Seeing the situation escalate, the security chief became somewhat embarrassed, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.
"Stop inciting the crowd!" The security chief pointed at Qin Hao: "If you have something to say, come to the security office! Don't cause trouble here!"
Qin Hao glanced at him coldly, then turned to the students watching and said, "Can someone call the police for me? Tell them that a security guard is beating up students, and we demand a medical examination."
Immediately, someone in the crowd responded, "I'll fight! My dorm is nearby."
"No need to call!" The security chief panicked and quickly stopped the student who was about to make the call, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Why call the police? We can handle things internally at school. There's no need to bother the police."
He turned to look at Qin Hao, his expression shifting from anger to ingratiating, and his voice softened: "Hey classmate, how about this? You release him first, and we'll pretend this never happened, okay?"
"Cousin..." The security captain wanted to say something, but was glared at fiercely by the security director, so he stopped and swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
Qin Hao looked down at the security captain at his feet and slowly lifted his foot.
The security captain, feeling like he'd been granted a pardon, scrambled to hide behind the security director, clutching his chest and gasping for breath.
Qin Hao turned around, bent down to help Liu Yuan up from the ground, put his arm around Liu Yuan's shoulder, and supported him as they walked out. Liu Yuan leaned against him, his steps unsteady, and he was still mumbling something incoherently.
The students who had gathered around automatically made way for Qin Hao. Some gave him a thumbs up, some clapped, and some whispered, "Awesome." The security chief stood there, his face ashen, without uttering a word.
Seeing that the security chief had been humiliated, the students watching cheered, showing that everyone had long been fed up with these security guards.
Liu Yuan suddenly said, "Old Qin, I'm fucking done believing in love." (End of Chapter)