Eating Melons in the Police Station-Chapter 105

Because it was Qingming Festival, despite the bad weather, the cemetery was still crowded. The car slowed to a crawl at the foot of the mountain, inching forward intermittently for over half an hour before reaching the entrance.

Zhong Jin had never visited the graves before, so he directly paid the highest-tier management fee at the administration office, entrusting them with the upkeep.

Three marble tombstones stood side by side, their surfaces lightly dusted with yellow soil, though it was clear they had been cleaned that morning. But with this weather, no sooner was the dirt wiped away than it settled back again.

Fresh flowers and fruits were already placed in front of the tombstones—whether left by friends or the cemetery staff, it was hard to tell.

Zhong Jin added his own offerings: two bouquets of white chrysanthemums, a common tribute for the departed, and a cluster of nandina, Zhong Yan’s favorite plant.

He crouched down, brushing away some of the dust from the tombstones, and spoke calmly, "Mom, Dad, Zhong Yan, I’m here to see you."

"A lot has happened since you’ve been gone. I have a daughter now—she’s almost four. Her name is Zhong Yuntong."

He called the little girl over, "Yuntong, come say hello. Call them Grandpa, Grandma, and Auntie."

Yuntong leaned against Zhong Jin’s knee, clasping her tiny hands, and announced loudly, "Grandpa, Grandma, Auntie, I’m here! My name is Zhong Yuntong. Nice to meet you!"

Of course, the departed couldn’t respond.

Yuntong turned to Zhong Jin and asked, "Why aren’t they coming out? Did you forget to call ahead?"

She fidgeted with her hands, muttering in complaint, "Ugh, big bro, you really should call before visiting. Otherwise, they won’t know you’re coming."

Zhong Jin pinched her cheek lightly, "Who are you calling ‘big bro’? No respect."

Yuntong widened her eyes, explaining with earnest logic:

"If you don’t call to arrange a time, you’ll always miss each other. You come here, they go home to see you, but by the time you get back, they’ve already left because they couldn’t wait. So, boom—you never meet." She threw up her hands in exasperation.

Hearing her say this, Zhong Jin felt a strange sense of clarity—as if they really were still living in the same world, just constantly missing each other by chance.

When he was in Haishan, they might have been at home, at the factory, or on their way to visit him.

When he came to Jing City, they might have coincidentally gone on a trip.

Once ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‍he accepted this idea, their presence felt vivid again, as if they were all living their lives happily in their own time and space.

Yuntong rummaged through her little backpack, pulling out yogurt, jelly, and lollipops to arrange in front of the tombstones. Before setting them down, she carefully wiped away the dust with her tiny hands.

After everything was neatly placed, she clapped her hands together and stood up, leaning on her knees for support.

"Now they’ll know I was here when they come back, and they’ll contact us."

Zhong Jin stared at the clever little girl, then suddenly exhaled as if a weight had been lifted.

He stood up. "Let’s go. The wind’s too strong—don’t want you catching a cold."

Qiu Sheng stood behind him, smoothing her wind-tousled long hair before adding softly, "Mom, Dad, Zhong Yan, we’re leaving now. We’ll bring Yuntong to see you again next time."

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

Zhong Jin turned his head, giving her a puzzled glance.

As they stepped away from the graves, Qiu Sheng explained, "Mom and Dad don’t know we’re divorced. Calling them ‘uncle and aunt’ would seem odd."

Zhong Jin nodded. "Right. Let’s not tell them, then. No need to worry them."

Before leaving the cemetery, Zhong Jin stopped by the administration office again to check if any fees were due and to remind them to clean the tombstones once the sandstorm passed.

The same elderly attendant from before was there. When Zhong Jin asked about payments, the old man said, "Your family’s fees were already paid—someone came during Spring Festival."

Zhong Jin frowned. "What did the person look like?"

There weren’t many relatives left, and his closest friends were people like Yu Feiyang. Maybe one of them had paid without mentioning it.

The old man thought for a moment. "Tall, broad-shouldered guy. Wore a suit and a black overcoat—looked wealthy, like some big shot. Around his thirties."

The only person who matched that description was Qiu Chen.

Understanding dawned on Zhong Jin. After thanking the attendant, he carried Yuntong out of the office, walking alongside Qiu Sheng.

"Did you ask your brother to come?" Zhong Jin asked.

Qiu Sheng murmured a quiet "Mm."

Zhong Jin: "Thanks. I appreciate you both taking care of this."

Qiu Sheng stayed silent.

It wasn’t until they reached the parking lot, dusting off their clothes before getting into the car, that Qiu Sheng kept glancing at Zhong Jin, hesitating over something.

Zhong Jin gripped the steering wheel, turning to her. "What is it?"

Qiu Sheng: "There’s something I don’t know how to tell you. Or whether I should even tell you at all."

Zhong Jin immediately pressed, "The reason you agreed to the divorce? Of course you should tell me. Spit it out."

"Not that. It’s about my brother."

Zhong Jin: "Huh?"

"My brother—he’s never dated or married all these years. I think it’s because of Zhong Yan."

Zhong Jin flicked on the turn signal, pulling the car over to the side of the parking lot. He turned to her, stunned. "What did you say?"

A security guard jogged over, rapping on the window. "Hey, sir, you can’t park here. Move along."

Zhong Jin acknowledged him and drove off again.

Qiu Sheng raised a hand, signaling him to stay calm. "It’s just a guess. Back when we were still married, I happened to see a photo of Zhong Yan in my brother’s wallet—cut out from a group photo. The background looked like some brand’s gala dinner."

"So it wasn’t you who asked him to visit the graves. He came on his own, right?"

Qiu Sheng nodded. "Yeah."

Though Zhong Jin had once been Qiu Chen’s brother-in-law, his work in the investigative unit kept him swamped, and they barely saw each other twice a year.

Zhong Yan had joined the family business after graduation, so she and Qiu Chen would have crossed paths often. Since the photo was clipped from an event, it meant Qiu Chen’s feelings were one-sided.

This also explained why Qiu Chen doted so much on Yuntong.

She wasn’t just his niece—she was also Zhong Yan’s. In her flowed the blood of both Qiu Chen and Zhong Yan.

The idea of Qiu Chen harboring feelings for Zhong Yan seemed unbelievable at first, but the more Zhong Jin thought about it, the more the signs added up. He’d just never considered that possibility before, so he’d overlooked the clues.

After learning about this matter, Zhong Jin's feelings toward Qiu Chen became even more complicated. Beyond the brother-in-law relationship, there was also a shared sense of mourning for the same person, adding a touch of mutual sympathy between them.

When they returned home, both Qiu Chen and Tao Siyuan were there. Qiu Chen had been working overtime all night and was now fast asleep on the sofa, still wearing Zhong Jin’s loungewear. He was so exhausted that he was completely out.

Tao Siyuan was at the dining table, wrapping dumplings. Seeing them return, she smiled and greeted them, "I asked the housekeeper to prepare the filling earlier. Since I know Zhong Jin doesn’t like outsiders at home, I sent her back. Now we can wrap the dumplings ourselves."

Tao Siyuan had been worried that Zhong Jin might be in low spirits after visiting the grave, so she had dragged Qiu Chen over despite him pulling an all-nighter.

Little Yuntong, hearing about the dumpling-making, immediately rolled up her sleeves, eager to join.

Tao Siyuan quickly stopped her, "Yuntong, the dough isn’t ready yet. Go change your clothes and wash your hands first. Goodness, look at all the dirt on you!"

Zhong Jin grabbed the back of Yuntong’s collar and hauled her into the bathroom.

Once cleaned up, Yuntong ran back to the dining table, stood on her tiptoes, and unabashedly swiped a lump of dough.

Clutching the dough, she sneaked into the living room and pressed it onto Qiu Chen’s face, using his cheek as a kneading board. She rolled the dough into a ball and stuck it on his nose, then giggled behind her hand, "Uncle has a clown nose now!"

Mentioning clowns reminded Yuntong of the stickers Qiu Chen had bought her during the Spring Festival, which included clown-themed ones.

She waddled back to the bedroom on her short legs, rummaged through the bedside drawer for the stickers, then hurried back to Qiu Chen and began peeling them off one by one to stick on his face.

Zhong Jin walked over and scolded Yuntong in a low voice, telling her not to disturb her uncle’s sleep.

Qiu Chen suddenly opened his eyes like a zombie rising from the dead, his face covered in stickers and dough, and glared at Zhong Jin, "Why are you scolding her for no reason?"

Zhong Jin, holding a thermos, looked exasperated. "For no reason? Have you seen yourself in a mirror?"

Qiu Chen ignored him and pinched the chubby cheek of Yuntong instead. "Keep playing, don’t mind him."

Zhong Jin muttered, "Fine, I shouldn’t have bothered." He turned and walked to the kitchen to refill his thermos with hot water.

Tao Siyuan peeked over and saw the hot water poured into the thermos, floating with goji berries and what looked like other medicinal herbs at the bottom.

She leaned closer to Qiu Sheng and whispered, "You two should tone it down in that department. It’s not good for him to keep relying on tonics like this."

Qiu Sheng: "......"

Qiu Sheng: "......?"

"Mom, what are you even thinking? We... we haven’t... it’s not like that."

Tao Siyuan smirked. "We’ve all been there. No need to explain."

Qiu Sheng realized the more she tried to clarify, the worse it sounded, so she gave up. Given that she and Zhong Jin had once been married and now lived under the same roof, misunderstandings were inevitable.

Once the dough was ready, Tao Siyuan called Yuntong over to wrap dumplings, giving her a small portion to play with on the side.

Yuntong knelt on the dining chair, singing a nursery rhyme she’d learned in kindergarten: "Wrap the dumplings, pinch-pinch-pinch. Good kids get head pats, bad kids get spankings!"

Humming, she tossed her bizarrely shaped dumplings onto the board.

Later, Tao Siyuan boiled Yuntong’s dumplings and ladled them into a bowl. Yuntong watched eagerly and declared, "These are mine!"

"Right, these are for Uncle. Our little one will eat the ones Grandma made—more filling and prettier."

"OK, OK!" Yuntong nodded vigorously, strutting around with comically exaggerated steps.

Though it was called a dumpling meal, it wasn’t just dumplings. Tao Siyuan, not skilled at cooking other dishes, had ordered a full spread from a restaurant.

As the dishes were laid out, Tao Siyuan asked Qiu Chen, "Do you and Zhong Jin want some wine?"

Qiu Chen sat up from the sofa, the dough ball rolling off his nose, which he caught deftly. "I’m fine either way. Zhong Jin, you drinking?"

Zhong Jin raised his thermos. "I’ve quit. Don’t ask me about alcohol from now on."

Tao Siyuan turned to Qiu Sheng. "How about you? Shall we have some?"

"Sure," Qiu Sheng agreed readily and went to fetch wine glasses.

At the table, Zhong Jin kept his thermos close and picked only light, nutritious dishes. Qiu Chen was about to tease him for acting like an old man already, but Zhong Jin beat him to it, locking eyes with him and saying sternly, "You’re not getting any younger. Shouldn’t you start thinking about settling down? Or do you plan to stay single forever?"

Qiu Chen sighed inwardly—this man had fully embraced his inner dad mode.