"Why are you here?"

Qing stood in front of Zhou Ze,

her face a little flushed,

her breathing a little rapid,

her small hands clenched into fists,

and beads of sweat on her forehead.

Zhou Ze put down the newspaper in his hand and looked at Qing strangely.

Logically speaking,

the bookstore’s temperature was usually very low because its owner preferred cold to heat, and it had the banshee, a green central air conditioner, in control.

"Are you… hot?"

Qing swallowed,

shaking her head vigorously.

Zhou Ze frowned and asked,

"Is something… wrong?"

Qing's breathing suddenly stopped.

Good heavens,

Zhou Ze's breath also hitched.

"No, nothing's wrong."

Zhou Ze breathed a long sigh. He suddenly felt that if he continued talking to this little girl in front of him, he might suffocate.

"By the way, what did you ask me just now?"

Qing clenched her fists again, her chest rising and falling. After hesitating for a few seconds,

she said,

"Why are you here today?"

"If I'm not here, where would I be?"

The owner Zhou said inexplicably.

Qing craned her neck, bit her lip, and said,

"Last night, you went out with Fu… the Daoist priest. Went out, went out, went out to dig, dig, dig, dig…"

"Dig up corpses."

"Yes, yes, yes, dig, dig, dig, dig…"

"Are we having frog for dinner tonight?"

Xu Qinglang happened to walk down from upstairs. Hearing the croaking, he thought Yingying had gone to the market to buy frogs.

Qing's face instantly turned red and hot,

her fingertips constantly twirling the hem of her skirt.

"Heh, do you have social anxiety?"

Zhou Ze finally understood the reason.

Qing didn't know what social anxiety was, but after hearing it, based on a simple literal understanding, she immediately nodded.

In fact, social anxiety is similar to depression.

Anyone can pitifully imitate Xizi, reclining on her couch, and say they have depression. Similarly, anyone can say they have social anxiety.

In fact, that's really the case. Most people actually have mild social anxiety, but it doesn't affect their lives. Its synonym could be called "introversion."

For example, some middle school students don't dare to go out unless they wash their hair with Head & Shoulders beforehand, or they naturally breathe rapidly and feel flustered when walking on crowded streets.

But someone like Qing belongs to a rather severe category.

The reason why it didn't show before is simple. She didn't need to socialize at all before.

As a big shot in the Enforcement Team,

she was usually high above everyone else.

Anyone higher than her

would just kneel.

After all, the hierarchical system in the Enforcement Team back then was notoriously strict.

But now, entering the bookstore is like changing to a different environment.

Maybe it's still a little better when facing the old Daoist; the old way, just kneel and be done with it.

But when facing other people, she needs to switch to an environment of "equal communication," which suddenly makes her feel very awkward.

However,

it's quite cute,

looking at this little girl so nervous and flustered,

and then thinking about her true identity,

it's really interesting,

hehe.

"Okay, I understand. You mean, why didn't I go with them to catch people, right?"

"Yes."

Qing could still manage to speak in monosyllables fluently.

"Why should I go? I'm not a police officer. This is the job of the police. I just run a bookstore."

Owner Zhou answered easily and naturally.

"But… but…"

"But why did I go with them to dig up corpses last night?"

"Yes!"

"I was bored. The first customer in over a year. I was inevitably curious, so I went along."

"But… but…"

"But since you went, why don't you care today?"

"Yes!"

"Because I believe in the law. I believe in the people's police.

I believe that the law will punish all darkness and evil.

I believe that the great people's police can bring all criminals to justice.

I believe that the impartial judges in the courtroom will give those suspects a fair trial.

I believe that our prisons and our peanut shells can give all crimes an appropriate ending."

The string of parallel sentences

made Qing almost breathless,

almost suffocating.

"So, what else do I need to do?"

Zhou Ze spread his hands.

"What, is it still about last night's matter?" Xu Qinglang had already walked over and checked, but didn't see any frogs.

"Yeah, she's still asking me why I didn't go."

Zhou Ze pointed at Qing.

Qing's face turned even redder!

"What's the point of going? The weather's awfully hot."

Xu Qinglang smiled and continued,

"I'll make frog porridge for dinner tonight. I'll go outside and see if I can buy some fresher frogs."

"Aren't they only available in the morning?"

"Don't compare a cook's ability to buying groceries." Xu Qinglang replied with a smile, walked out the door, got into his car, and drove away.

Qing continued to stand in front of Zhou Ze,

looking at him earnestly.

She heard what Owner Zhou had just said,

but she still endured all kinds of awkwardness

and continued to speak:

"What you just said, is it true?"

Zhou Ze reached out and patted his chest

and said,

"Every word is sincere, from the bottom of my heart."

"I… I feel like you…"

Obviously,

Qing was still a little skeptical.

Because of how Zhou Ze used to play with and deceive her,

especially in Yangzhou,

so Qing naturally didn't trust that Zhou Ze would have such a high level of ideological awareness.

Otherwise, when the Enforcement Team was still around,

why would he deliberately break the law knowing it?

"The yang realm and the underworld are two different circles. Strictly speaking, we are people of the underworld, so we cannot and should not interfere too much in the affairs of the yang realm.

You should understand this principle without me having to explain it, right?"

Qing nodded vigorously.

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Let's respect each other. Moreover, I always believe that Heaven doesn't hide evil, and the righteous path of the human world is ever-changing."

"Rea… really?"

"Mm."

"I seem to understand a little."

"You used to work in this field. You should understand the ins and outs better than I do."

"Yes, but I still feel that I don't see things as clearly as you do."

"Don't mention it. You're too kind. I hope what I just said can inspire you in some way. What if you directly comprehend something and your power greatly increases?"

"Uh…"

At this time,

Yingying came back from the wax museum in the back with freshly picked fruits and vegetables.

After entering the door, she asked curiously:

"Boss, Old Zhang said that the bureau has a big case to deal with today and is very busy, so he won't be coming to eat, but where's the old Daoist? I haven't seen him."

"Oh, the old Daoist, ah. Wasn't that village chief and his sons arrested?

I think there should be justice for grievances and debts have owners, right? Disaster shouldn't befall the family, right?

So I let the old Daoist go to the village chief's house to comfort the family members."

"Boss, you're so kind-hearted."

"Yeah, I think so too."

——————

ps: Today, chun jie di xiao long is outside and has things to do tonight.

So this chapter is a bit short, but very powerful!