The woman followed Corot up to the second floor, probably to ease the tension in her heart, and she looked around and turned her attention to the paintings hanging on either side of the hallway.

The corridor on the second floor is very long, spanning the entire floor, about three meters wide, the walls on both sides are painted with gray-green antique lacquer, the floor is paved with old solid wood floors, no waxing, it looks a little obscure, the ceiling is about four meters high, but less than four meters, there is no ceiling, and there are half-old European-style carved vintage chandeliers.

These were designed by the original owner of the bar, and Corot did not have any alterations made by the decorators, except for the installation of decorative fireplaces on both sides of the hallway, and a number of carved European chairs in solid wood next to the fireplace, as well as some stone carvings.

On the gray-green walls, there are many oil paintings of different sizes, which are framed in European-style carved metal frames, with an outdated atmosphere, as if they have traveled through a hundred years, or even thousands of years, before coming to the modern era, retro and mysterious, incompatible with the fast-paced life on the commercial street, but complementing the nostalgic atmosphere in the gallery.

These oil paintings include figures, landscapes and still lifes, either realistic or abstract, all with heavy colors and mysterious atmosphere.

"These are all painted by Boss Qin in his spare time." Seeing the woman staring at the oil painting on the wall, seemingly lost in thought, Corot stopped and explained to her.

"Really?" The woman then came back to her senses and sneered, "I thought it was painted by a foreign artist." ”

"Hehe, Boss Qin's painting skills are much better than many foreign painters! Look at this, it's me. Corot pointed to an oil painting on the wall and said.

"This... Isn't this a child? Is this what you looked like when you were a kid? Looking at the portrait of a little boy in a navy uniform, the woman said with some surprise.

"Ahem, yes, this is what I looked like when I was eight years old." Looking at the woman's surprised appearance, Corot suddenly realized that he had said the wrong thing.

"It's quite like, you were pretty cute when you were a kid." The woman smiled, revealing a motherly tenderness.

"Ahh When you arrive, you can go in by yourself, Boss Qin is inside. Corot blushed and changed the subject, strode to the room at the end of the hallway, pushed the door open, stepped aside, and made a gesture of invitation to the woman.

"Thank you!" The woman nodded to Corot and walked in.

When the woman entered the room, Corot gently closed the door.

Bypassing the entrance, what greeted the woman's eyes was still a studio, the studio was in a square pattern, and the three walls were covered with various oil paintings, which looked a little familiar, but the woman did not study oil paintings in a flash.

In the center of the room, there is a carved sofa wrapped in red velvet, and there are no paintings on the wall opposite the sofa, only a row of spotlights hanging on the top, illuminating the empty gray-green wall.

The woman didn't understand, why did she put the sofa directly opposite an empty wall, could it be that Boss Qin had a hobby of facing the wall?

"Turn right, please!"

Just as the woman was in a daze, a cold and low male voice came from her right.

The woman searched for prestige, only to find a small door in the corner on the right, and the sound came from behind the door.

Because the small door is dark green, and it is right in the blind corner of the light, if you don't pay attention to it, it will be overlooked.

The woman pursed her lips, clenched her handbag, and walked slowly towards the small door, swallowing nervously as she pushed the door in.

Taking a deep breath, the woman pushed open the small green door.

"Boss Qin?"

The room was dim, with only a single beam of light shining from the corner next to it, in the shape of a star, like stars shining on the gray-green sky.

The woman turned to look and saw that the light was shining from the lamp in the corner, and through the faint light, she found herself in a room of less than ten square meters.

On the wall next to it, there is an oil painting about one meter long, although she doesn't understand oil painting, but she immediately recognized it, this painting should be Van Gogh's "Starry Night", however, this "Starry Sky" is naturally an imitation painting, because the real work is hanging in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, but I don't know if this imitation painting is also from the hand of Boss Qin.

"You may be seated!"

The cold, low voice came from across from the woman.

The woman looked up and saw a slender man sitting on the single couch opposite.

"May I ask if you are Boss Qin?" The woman didn't sit down immediately, but asked tentatively.

Although the man on the other side was hidden in a corner where the light could not shine, the woman deduced from the man's figure and voice that the other party was not very old.

The woman didn't know Boss Qin's age, but it could be inferred from the fact that Boss Qin had painted a portrait of the eight-year-old Corot that he should be quite old.

"Yes." The man nodded, raised his hand, and made a gesture to the woman to take a seat.

Although her heart was full of doubts, the woman still sat on the single sofa opposite Boss Qin.

In the middle of the two armchairs, a three-seater sofa of the same material sits and an iron glass coffee table with English refreshments.

The silky black tea and delicate carved little desserts look tempting, but they also seem to serve only the purpose of decoration, after all, the guests who come to this room are not here to drink tea and chat, but to make a fifth transaction.

The woman was sitting next to the lamp, half of her body melted into the light, half into the shadows.

Through the half of his face illuminated by the light, Qin Li could see the other party's crampedness and uneasiness.

So, he was the first to speak, straight to the point, "You want a child?" ”

"Yes.. Yes! The woman nodded hurriedly.

Although Qin Qi saw the purpose of coming here at a glance, she was a little surprised and panicked, but she had done her homework before she came, so the panic on her face flashed away.

After the woman took a deep breath, she calmed herself down, "Boss Qin, I want a child, what do I exchange it for?" ”

"What do you think is the most worthwhile thing to trade?" Qin Qi asked rhetorically.

"Money?" The woman asked tentatively, stretching her neck.

"Huh!" Qin Qi let out a short laugh, got up from the sofa, bent over, poured more than half a cup of English black tea into the empty teacup, and then pushed the teacup towards the woman.

Qin Qi nodded politely to the woman, "Please use tea." ”

Then, he filled the tea he had just drunk half of with black tea, picked up the teacup, and sat back on the sofa.

The woman raised her head and found that Qin Qi had retreated into the shadows, elegantly sipping the black tea in the teacup.

Just now, when Qin Li bent down to pour tea for herself, the woman glanced at him with her peripheral vision, and through the slight brightness of the light, the woman found that Qin Li had a handsome and cold face, and looked very young, about twenty-five or sixteen.

Is this mysterious man sitting across from him really the Boss Qin who can help him realize his wishes?

"This is what I brought back from the UK and it tastes good." Qin Qi said suddenly.

"Good!" The woman picked up the teacup and took a sip.

The smell is strong, but the taste is sweet, which is really good.

Because the woman's health is not good, she hardly drinks tea or other drinks, at most a little milk.

"I'm not helping you realize your wishes, but helping you exchange desires, your biggest obsession over the years should be a child, you want a child, but your body doesn't seem to allow it." Qin Qi took a sip of tea and continued.

"Yes.. Yes, I am, I have polycystic ovary syndrome, I don't know, I don't know if you've heard of it? "Discussing a woman's disease with a strange man who seems younger than herself makes a woman a little shy.

With that, she lowered her head, and a hint of blush slowly appeared on her pale face.

"Well, in order to treat this disease, you have been losing weight, and you have controlled your diet, and you have taken a lot of medicines, but unfortunately, you are not in good health, and until now, you are still not pregnant." Qin Qi said seriously, without twisting.

"Yes, is there anything you can do to help me heal?" The woman raised her head and looked at Qin Li.

It's a pity that she couldn't see Qin Li's expression clearly at this time.

"No, I'm not a doctor, I can only help you exchange desires, and exchange what you have in you for the desires you want to achieve the most." Qin Qi said lightly.

"I... I can give money, can't I? The woman asked.

"No, first of all, you are not rich, so your wealth does not match your desires; Secondly, money is an external object to you, you will not be rare if you have more, and you will not feel distressed if you have less, am I right? Qin Qi asked.

The woman's eyes widened in surprise, because the second sentence that Qin Qi had just said spoke her heart.

Although her family is not wealthy, she is content, and her desire for money is not strong, so it would be best if she could exchange it for money.

"So what exactly is there on me that is worth exchanging for? I'm just an ordinary person, I have no money and no status, and even, cough cough cough... Not even a healthy body yet. "As soon as the woman was excited, she coughed incessantly.

"Take a sip of tea." Qin Qi reminded.

The woman hurriedly picked up the teacup and poured a few sips of tea before she stopped coughing.

"I... Is there anything else worth exchanging on me? The woman looked up, tears glistening in her eyes.

"What do you think is the most worthwhile thing in your body to trade for a newborn child?" Qin Qi asked rhetorically.

"What's that?" the woman looked down and began to think.

"Life!"

After a while, the woman raised her head and looked at Qin Qi firmly, although there were still tears in her eyes, her eyes were blazing.

Qin Bai nodded and asked again, "Do you think it's worth exchanging your life for a newborn child?" ”

"It's worth it!" The woman nodded, firmly.

"Good! Deal. Qin Li put down the teacup in his hand and walked to the woman.

Watching Qin Qi move from the darkness to the light, the woman went from uneasy to excited.

Qin Li stood in front of the woman, stretched out his slender index finger, and tapped at the air above the woman's head, and then, the corners of his mouth curved, and said to the woman: "Ms. Zeng, congratulations, the exchange of desires has been successful." ”

"Really?" The woman raised her head in disbelief, but only saw Qin Li's chin.

Qin Li's chin was very clean, without a trace of stubble, just a faint cyan.

"Well, you can go back, don't go on a diet recently, don't take medicine, take care of your body, and wait to be a mother." And then wait to pass away, Qin Li added in his heart.

"Okay, okay, thank you, Boss Qin." The woman didn't doubt him, bowed to Qin Li, didn't look at him anymore, and turned around and walked out of the room with her handbag...

"What did she exchange with you?" Before the Koro people arrived, the sound had arrived.

"Trade your life for a child." Qin Li picked up a pink cupcake, ate it with black tea, and ate it.

"What? Doesn't that mean that as soon as her child is born, she will die? Corot was a little surprised.

"Yes." Qin Qi nodded, looking a little careless, recalling the feeling of popping the crystal balloon just now, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise.

"Aren't you making a death deal?" Corot's tone was reproachful.

"If you want a new life, you have to exchange it for another life, this is the principle of the transaction." Qin Qi looked at Corot and said it as a matter of course.

"Executioner!" Corot scolded.

"You didn't notice that Ms. Zeng had clubbing?" Qin Qi asked.

"Clubbing? Are you saying she may have congenital heart disease? Corot hadn't noticed that, but he knew what clubbing meant.

"Well, she is so thin and pale, and it is not all caused by dieting, so even if she is cured of polycystic ovary syndrome and conceives a child in the future, she may be in danger of dying at the same time when she and the child are given birth because of congenital heart disease." Qin Qi frowned.

"She shouldn't have a child according to your opinion?" Corot frowned as well.

"Well, though, there are some obsessions that can't be eliminated, for example, the desire to take on a strange case has been floating above your head, tempting me to always try to puncture it." As he spoke, Qin Li stretched out his index finger and poked it above Corot's head.

In Corot's opinion, Qin Li was poking the air to play, but only Qin Li could see that there was the same crystal balloon floating above Corot's head as Ms. Zeng, but unlike Ms. Zeng's crystal balloon with the word "child" written on it, the crystal balloon on the top of Co Luo's head had the word "strange case" written on it.

After poking for a long time, Qin Li didn't puncture the crystal balloon on the top of Coro's head, so he said helplessly: "Do you want to exchange?" This balloon has been floating above your head for months now. ”

"Don't! I don't want to make some crazy exchange with you. With that, Corot covered his head and turned to leave.

"Can't you just think about the detectives? For example, women, you are 29 years old, and there is no half a woman around you except for those short-legged dogs. Qin Qi shouted behind Corot.

"Not only short legs, but also long legs, I also have a golden retriever now, and my legs are long!" Corot's voice came from the hallway.

"Huh!" Qin Li smiled and continued to taste the delicious dessert on the coffee table.