Eating Melons in the Police Station-Chapter 106

On the second day in Jing City, Qiu Sheng took Little Tong to get a haircut. It wasn’t about cutting it too short—just that her long hair had never been trimmed before and had grown a bit unruly, so they wanted to tidy it up.

Qiu Sheng had made an appointment under Little Tong’s name. When they arrived at the salon, Qiu Sheng provided the reservation number.

The receptionist was a tall, slender young man with a distinctly Japanese aesthetic. After checking the booking, he smiled warmly, revealing a row of perfectly white teeth. "Hello, may I confirm—are you Ms. Zhong Yuntong?"

Qiu Sheng pointed to the little girl standing beside her. "This is Ms. Zhong Yuntong."

The young man remained gentle, bending down to address Little Tong with sincerity. "Hello, Ms. Zhong. It’s a pleasure to serve you. I’m your personal hairstylist, Little Yan."

Little Tong’s face instantly flushed red. Suppressing her excitement, she greeted the handsome big brother with impeccable manners:

"Hello, I’m Zhong Yuntong. I’m three and a half years old, in the Ginkgo Class at kindergarten."

As the big brother turned to fetch a robe for her, Little Tong covered her mouth, stomped her feet, and whispered excitedly to Qiu Sheng:

"Mommy, that person just called me Ms. Zhong!"

When the big brother returned with the robe, Little Tong immediately composed herself, standing there with an air of dignified calm.

The young man helped her into the robe and bent down again. "Ms. Zhong, please follow me. We’ll have a professional wash your hair first."

Little Tong took his hand and walked confidently beside him—though her sudden awkward gait betrayed her nervousness.

While Qiu Sheng and Little Tong enjoyed top-tier salon services in Jing City’s affluent district, Zhong Jin was also waiting for a haircut.

Zhong Jin and Yu Feiyang sat squeezed onto small stools in the barbershop, waiting for the middle-aged man ahead of them to finish before it was their turn.

Yu Feiyang hugged his knees and grumbled to Zhong Jin, "Wasn’t a wash-and-cut just 10 yuan here before? After Spring Festival, they raised the price—10 yuan for just a cut, plus another 4 if you want a wash."

Grandpa Wang overheard the complaint and peered over his glasses. "If it’s too expensive, you can wash your own hair. I won’t charge you for water or shampoo."

Yu Feiyang perked up. "Then let’s do it ourselves, Big Head. You wash mine, I’ll wash yours—we’ll save 8 yuan."

Zhong Jin wasn’t trying to save money; he just noticed Grandpa Wang’s hands trembling like sieves. At this point, washing his own hair seemed like the better option.

While cutting Zhong Jin’s hair, Grandpa Wang mentioned that the barbershop would only stay open until the end of the year. The entire block of old houses was slated for demolition early next year, and he was getting too old to keep working anyway—time to retire and enjoy life.

Zhong Jin didn’t know how long the barbershop had been around, but ever since Yu Feiyang discovered it during his middle school years while biking past, their group of friends had been getting haircuts there.

Now, hearing it would soon be gone, Zhong Jin felt an inexplicable melancholy.

The two of them walked out of the alley with freshly trimmed hair. Yu Feiyang, who had work in the afternoon, leaned against his car door and asked, "Where to? I can drop you off."

Zhong Jin waved him off. "Go ahead. I’ll take a cab to meet Qiu Sheng and Little Tong."

"Oh, right."

Yu Feiyang pulled out his wallet and handed Zhong Jin a red envelope.

"This is for Little Tong. I meant to give it to her during Spring Festival, but you guys left in a hurry and we never got to meet up."

Zhong Jin took it. "If she finds out I saw you, she’ll throw a fit. She keeps begging to have skewers with you."

"No time for skewers this round. The forensics team dumped a mountain of evidence on us, demanding results yesterday. Our whole department’s working overtime—I only snuck out during lunch today."

"What about food? Grab some noodles up ahead?"

Yu Feiyang shook his head. "No time. I’ll just grab a bun from a convenience store."

"Then get going," Zhong Jin urged.

Yu Feiyang slid into the car but stuck his head back out, his tone serious.

"Big Head, just apply to transfer back. Even if you can’t do fieldwork, there’s other work. We all miss you. Seriously—every time we drink, Zhou Tian sets out a glass for you. He knows you won’t show, but he still fills it to the brim."

Zhong Jin sighed. "...I appreciate it. But tell Zhou Tian to stop. Feels a bit... morbid."

Yu Feiyang chuckled. "Just think about it. We all want you back."

He ducked into the car, arm hanging out the window as he gave a backward wave before driving off.

Zhong Jin took a taxi to meet Qiu Sheng and the others. When he arrived at the upscale salon, Little Tong’s haircut was already done. She sat on the sofa, sporting her shiny new hairstyle while sipping juice and nibbling on a small cake.

A chubby little hand rested on the armrest as Teacher Billy provided her with a complimentary manicure.

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To be honest, Zhong Jin didn’t see much difference in Little Tong’s haircut—aside from it being darker, glossier, and straighter, the length and shape were pretty much the same as before.

Qiu Sheng, however, immediately noticed Zhong Jin’s haircut: “Did you go to Grandpa Wang’s place?”

“Yep. Ten bucks for a cut this short—pretty good deal, right?”

Truth be told, Grandpa Wang wasn’t bad at cutting men’s hair. Plus, Zhong Jin had great hair and good looks, so even a simple, short layered style suited him well.

Zhong Jin wasn’t particularly fussy about these things anyway. His only requirement in life was simplicity and comfort.

Qiu Sheng cheerfully chimed in, “Looks nice.”

Zhong Jin ruffled the strands of hair on his forehead. “Little Tong’s hair turned out great too. Must’ve cost, what, 50 bucks?”

Teacher Billy’s hand trembled slightly as he painted the child’s nails, his expression turning complicated.

Qiu Sheng sipped her juice calmly. “Something like that.”

She wasn’t about to tell Zhong Jin that the cheapest haircut here started at 800. If he found out, he’d definitely feel cheated. Better to let him remain blissfully ignorant, forever content with his ten-yuan haircuts.

After leaving the salon, Zhong Jin asked, “What do you want for lunch? How about hot pot with a copper pot?”

Qiu Sheng shrugged. “I’m fine with anything.”

Zhong Jin then turned to Little Tong. “Zhong Yuntong, how about you? Feel like lamb hot pot?”

Little ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‍Tong raised her tiny hands, proudly displaying her new manicure—black and white designs with little stars and smiley faces, her stubby nails adorned with glittering rhinestones.

The chubby little girl lifted her chin with an air of dignity. “You must address me as Miss Zhong.”

Zhong Jin: “......? So, are you eating or not?”

Little Tong clasped her hands together, mimicking elegance. “You must say, ‘Miss Zhong, would you consider the copper pot lamb hot pot?’”

Zhong Jin turned on his heel. “Guess you’re not hungry. Fine, let’s get you some fermented bean juice instead.”

The little troublemaker instantly crumbled, clinging to Zhong Jin’s leg and wailing, “I want lamb! I don’t want bean juice! Dad, Little Tong wants lamb! Thank you!”

After returning to Haishan from Jing City, life settled back into its usual busy rhythm. Every morning, the three of them left home together—Qiu Sheng drove to her studio, while Zhong Jin dropped Little Tong off at school before heading to the police station.

On weekends, they took Little Tong to the mountains to catch insects and dig up plants, or to the beach to collect seashells and build sandcastles. The plants and critters they brought back continued to populate her terrarium.

After weeks of effort, the terrarium had become a self-contained little world. It featured miniature mountains, forests, and oceans, filled with tiny plants and dozens of insects. A natural food chain existed inside, with creatures constantly coming and going, requiring regular restocking to maintain balance.

Keeping this ecosystem alive demanded a surprising amount of effort from the trio, who acted as its creators.

Eventually, Teacher Luo found out about the terrarium and asked Zhong Jin for photos to share in the parents’ group chat, encouraging other families to try this fun, educational project.

But most parents took one look at the massive setup and backed off. Between their exhausting daily grind, few had the energy for something so elaborate.

When summer arrived in full force, the kindergarten assigned parents a weekend task: teach their kids to swim.

Since Haishan was surrounded by water, swimming was considered an essential skill for every child.

Worried about weekend crowds at the pool, Zhong Jin’s family arrived early.

Little Tong emerged from the women’s changing room in a snug one-piece swimsuit, swim cap, and goggles, her round little belly sticking out proudly.

Qiu Sheng was still changing, so Little Tong ran ahead. Standing by the pool, she scanned the crowd of nearly identical half-naked adults and shouted at the top of her lungs:

“Who’s my dad?”

A few adults turned, spotting the adorably round-faced, chubby little girl. One jokingly called back, “I’m your dad.”

Little Tong trotted over, crouched down, and lifted the man’s swim cap for inspection.

“Nope,” she declared. “My dad has hair right here in the middle, not like you—you kinda look like a boiled egg.”

The surrounding crowd burst into good-natured laughter as the would-be “dad” suffered instant social death, plunging into the water to escape.

Zhong Jin walked through the water, standing in the shallow end of the pool as he guided Little Tong along the edge. When they reached the ladder, he helped her hold onto it and step into the water.

The buoyancy made it hard for Little Tong to keep her balance, and in her fear, she clung tightly to Zhong Jin’s waist, refusing to let go.

Zhong Jin wasn’t in a hurry to teach her how to swim. Instead, he simply played with her in the water, keeping things light and fun. Though he’d never taught anyone before, he had learned swimming himself and knew that overcoming the fear of water was half the battle.

Under his patient guidance, Little Tong gradually grew braver. She let go of Zhong Jin’s hand and even took a few steps in the water while holding onto a floating board.

After changing, Qiu Sheng slipped straight into the water. Like a mermaid, she glided gracefully toward them, circling around once before swimming away—the shallow end was too cramped for her to move freely.

Zhong Jin held Little Tong by the waist, helping her float on her stomach in the water as he encouraged her to kick her legs. His intention was just to let her feel the water’s buoyancy, but after a few moments of flailing, Zhong Jin realized she might actually be floating on her own. He loosened his grip slightly.

The moment he let go, Little Tong’s round head bobbed above the surface, her bottom sticking up as her arms and legs paddled rhythmically underwater—and just like that, she was swimming away, effortlessly.

Zhong Jin: “…Doggy paddle?”