Tea Leaves and Opal Necklaces

Uncle, Precautions, and Tina's Boyfriend

Match Fifteen: Uncle, Precautions, and Tina's Boyfriend:

-Ju-

In between trying to get pregnant and the mothers drowning me in advice and tools to help the process, I have been keeping track of Junjie and Jianjun. Ah, yes. Those two elephants in the room. We haven't forgotten about them. I have to put Szu and her parents' minds at ease as long as that rapist is out on bond. I can't have Hark looking at me with worried eyes every time I stop in and check on them. Qian is staying by Szu's side and seeing to her well-being.

But that isn't enough.

Five times a day, I check in on the people tailing them. Fei had some old friends in the police department.

"I have it taken care of," he told me. "Don't worry about it." Still, I can't be too careful. Junjie isn't too smart and he doesn't have daddy's money to protect him anymore. But, he is pissed. I wouldn't put it past him that he is looking for revenge. Then, there is my uncle. He's the smarter of the two. He probably has some scheme to take over the clan cooking up already. Jianjun's a skilled con man. He could weasel his way out of trouble with no problems.

I don't like it.

Before I headed off to college, I made another call to Detective Guo as I cleaned up my kitchen.

"Good morning, Wang-fuern," he said on the other line. "How you this morning?"

"I'm good," I said. "Any changes?"

"Not really," he said. "They're still at that motel downtown. Your uncle was on the balcony on the phone."

"Any sign of Junjie?"

"No."

I bit on my thumb. "I see."

"Don't worry, Wang-fuern. We won't let those sons of bitches out of our sights."

"Junjie I'm not worried about. Jianjun is the real problem."

"I understand. We're tailing their every move. We'll act if they do anything suspicious. You just take care of that clan of yours."

"Thanks."

"Will that be all?" Detective Guo asked. I shook my head.

"No," I said. "Just keep observing them."

"Will do," he said.

"Thanks again, goodbye."

"Goodbye."

I hung up feeling just the same as before. I took in a breath and turned towards the living room.

"I'm heading out now, dear!" I said.

"Have a good day, Ju!" Yao shouted back. I turned and walked out the door. I won't have a good day until both of them are behind bars.

I have been working to keep my clan safe. Not just them, either. Fei's police friends helped me track down all of Junjie's victims. For days, I called to warn them that he was out on bond. A couple of them were scared. One talked about going into hiding. An ex-girlfriend refused to be intimidated by her abuser.

"Thank you for letting me know," she said. "I will keep an eye out."

"Please be careful," I pleaded.

"Oh, you bet your ass I will," she said. Meanwhile, I focused my attention back on Szu. Man stepped up to talk with her.

"We thank you for this," Lili said, bowing.

"I'm just happy to help," Man said. Lili took out his wallet, but our therapist held up his hand.

"Oh, no, no, no," he said. "You won't need to do that." The other man blinked at him.