Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ruan Yang looked at him without moving.
Li Shaobin could only see her lips moving, as though she wanted to ask something but couldn’t bring herself to. He could guess what she wanted to ask him. “Do you want to ask me about Xin Ziao?”
Ruan Yang didn’t deny it. She did want to ask that. But so what if she did? And so what if she didn’t?
If he was alive, it had nothing to do with her. If he was dead, he would have nothing to do with her all the more…
“Your mom talked about what happened in the Xin Family this morning…” Ruan Yang stood up and avoided meeting his eye. She somehow felt very tired but she had to force her spirits up in case he started letting his mind run wild again.
“Are you very concerned about whether he’s dead or alive?” Li Shaobin saw how listless she was and he felt as though he was stabbed in the heart. He had long anticipated that Zhao Zhu would take revenge on Xin Ziao like a madwoman, but he didn’t think it would happen so soon. When he was sitting at Li Hall in the morning, Hu Zhi happened to rush over with that news.
When he heard that, he rushed back immediately. He knew his mom would hear news of it outside and start spreading it around. When he got back home and heard his family members discussing it, he knew Ruan Yang had found out and was told she had gone upstairs.
He wondered if she was looking for a place to cry.
When he came in, he was very cautious, afraid, and terrified. He was afraid that he would see her crying badly.
But luckily, she wasn’t. She was just sitting there like a statue.
But he still felt uncomfortable. Why must she still be concerned about Xin Ziao, about his life or death?
Would he always have a place in the depths of her heart no matter how much he hurt her? Otherwise, she wouldn’t have called out to him in her dream.
Ruan Yang sighed. She no longer loved Xin Ziao but she did. She couldn’t be nonchalant or celebratory unless she was cold-blooded.
However, when she saw how angry he was, she decided to deny it and said, “No.”
“You’re lying.” Li Shaobin clenched his fists tightly. “Why aren’t you looking me in the eye? Let me tell you—Xin Ziao is already dead. You won’t see him anymore.”
Ruan Yang’s pupils constricted. She actually expected it.
That dream last night came very abruptly. It was said that the dead would sometimes appear in the form of a dream. Was that Xin Ziao appearing before her in the form of a dream?
The words he spoke were so coincidental and so strange.
Was he just there to say goodbye to her?
“Did you hear what I said?” Li Shaobin saw that she kept staring out the window without moving and didn’t know what she was thinking about. Was she reminiscing about her past?
He walked over to her and reached out to pull her out of bed. His gaze was burning. “I said, he’s dead.”
“Yeah, you said he’s dead.” Ruan Yang turned around to look at him. Her eyes were dark. “What do you want me to do? Do you want me to cry or laugh?”
Li Shaobin was stunned. After a while, he smiled bitterly. “Don’t worry, he’s actually not dead. Although he managed to live, he’s turned into a dimwit. A retard.”
Ruan Yang was stunned. She looked at him for a few seconds and struggled free from his grip as she headed to the bathroom.
“What are you doing?” Li Shaobin asked.
“I’m going to wash my hair. My hair’s dirty. I’m washing it.” Ruan Yang walked in to look for shampoo.
Li Shaobin walked to the bathroom door. He saw her walk to the basin and turn the tap on as she started to adjust the temperature of the water.
He stood rooted there for a long while before turning around to walk to the balcony for a smoke. Through the sliding door, he saw that she had started blow-drying her hair after she was done washing it.
He never knew how women could make their hair curly and wavy just by blowing at it with a hairdryer. She was quite skilled at blow-drying her hair and could make the ends of her hair curl with a round brush.
He really didn’t know what she was thinking about. Xin Ziao had become a retard. If she was concerned, she wouldn’t be in the mood to set her hair, but if she wasn’t concerned, why would she have called out to him last night?
He felt a burning sensation on his hand and looked down to realize that the cigarette had almost burned to the end.
He extinguished the cigarette butt at the garbage bin frustratedly and turned to leave the bedroom.
Ruan Yang, who was sitting in a chair in front of her vanity, put the hairdryer down slowly when she heard the door click shut.
——————————-
On the second floor of the casino.
Yan Molun walked upstairs slowly as he played with a few chips in his hand. When he saw Li Shaobin pouring some alcohol for himself at the bar, he raised his brows and asked, “What’s wrong? Zhao Zhu was caught. Xin Zhanheng only has one son. Even if he fell out with the Zhao Family, he would still make sure that Zhao Zhu receives a heavy sentence. Xin Ziao has become dumb now. I heard he’s become a retard and in the future, he won’t even be able to do basic human activities. If I were you, I would’ve found a place to celebrate. Why are you drowning your sorrows here?”
Li Shaobin didn’t look at him and continued pouring alcohol for himself.
Yan Molun sat on the high stool beside him. “Don’t tell me you think that becoming a retard is too easy on him? You want him dead?”
“Am I that heartless and ruthless?” Li Shaobin glared at him. He suddenly sighed with sorrow. “I might dislike Xin Ziao, scold and curse him all the time, but we’ve only had minor conflicts. I’ve been a little jealous of him ever since I was young, but I wasn’t so jealous I would hope he was dead. If he didn’t do that at my wedding and cause me to lose my child, I wouldn’t have done what I did. After all, we knew each other since we were young and we were classmates too. I’m actually quite a nostalgic person.”
Yan Molun toyed with the chips in his hands with an apparent smile. “As someone who deals with the underworld, sometimes you’re still a little too kind.”
“There are four things that I, Li Shaobin, will never do: murder, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and human trafficking.” Li Shaobin rested his right hand on the bar table behind him and turned his chair around. He looked down at the casino hall on the first floor and the dazzling lights refracted from the chandelier cast melancholic rays on his face. “Last night, Ruan Yang called out for Xin Ziao in her dream. I feel so terrible right now.”
“I see…” Yan Molun patted his shoulder sympathetically. “Then that’s really sad for you. Luckily, my woman never calls out other people’s names when she sleeps.”
Li Shaobin pushed his hand away. “Are you trying to aggravate me on purpose?”
“Yeah.” Yan Molun nodded.
Li Shaobin clenched his teeth. He really wanted to punch Yan Molun’s face but Yan Molun was a mercenary and no matter how well he could fight, he would never be able to defeat him. “Go away. Stop loitering in front of me—you’re annoying.”
“I’m a little bored. I have to loiter around you.” Yan Molun took the bottle of alcohol from Li Shaobin casually and poured a cup for himself. “This is good stuff. It’s such a waste to drink alone.”
Li Shaobin ignored him. Yan Molun continued saying: “Actually, you don’t have to feel too upset. In any case, Xin Ziao has already turned into a retard. This love rival isn’t a threat to you anymore.”
“Can you say something more substantial if you want to comfort me?” Li Shaobin glared at him.
“No.” Yan Molun thought seriously and shook his head. “This has never happened to me. I don’t know how you feel. I really don’t know how to comfort you.”
“F*ck.” Li Shaobin cursed. Was he blind? Why would he always make friends who liked to rub salt in his wounds?
…
Ruan Yang felt that the Li family members had been looking at her in a weird way the entire day. She ignored those gazes and went out with Grandma Li to the garden for a walk and learned how to cook in the kitchen as usual.
Li Shaobin didn’t return even that night. At around 8 pm, she received a call from an unfamiliar number.
“It’s me.” A deep and rough voice came from the other side. “Yan Molun.”
Ruan Yang rubbed her glabella. She heard him pause before carrying on to say, “Shaobin had a drop too much at the casino. Come over to pick him up.”
It wasn’t a question. It sounded more like a command.
“Sure.” Ruan Yang looked at the time. “I’ll be there in 40 minutes. Help me take care of him for a while.”
She changed into a sportswear set and went out. When she was leaving, He Mingshan asked her where she was going and she said Li Shaobin told her to go out for a while.
The casino was like heaven on earth to the people of Northern City. The seaside was filled with endless temptations.
Ruan Yang gave Yan Molun a call when she arrived at the entrance. 10 minutes later, Yan Molun helped the drunken Li Shaobin out. He couldn’t even walk properly with the help of Yan Molun. The first few buttons on his shirt were undone and he looked just like a drunkard without a care for his image.
Ruan Yang opened the back door and Yan Molun simply threw him in. Ruan Yang heard a loud knock.
“F*ck, who dares… who dares to hit me. I’ll kill him…” Li Shaobin scolded drunkenly. He struggled for a long time to climb up but failed.
Ruan Yang was dumbfounded. She said with a frown, “Why did you throw him so hard? He’s your friend after all.”
Yan Molun smacked his palms and said lightly, “It doesn’t matter. His skin is rough and thick.”
Ruan Yang was angry. “Even so, you can’t do this.”
“We’re always like this. You can tell him tomorrow. He won’t be able to fight me anyway.” Yan Molun put his hands in his pockets and left her with his cold back as he entered the casino.
Ruan Yang was a little speechless. What kind of boyfriend did Duoyao have?
She could actually tame him. She was another weird one.
She wouldn’t want such a dangerous and unthoughtful person even if he was given to her for free.
She turned back to look at the man who was still struggling with all his might on the floor mat. She found him funny and went to help him up onto the seat. In the end, when he had just sat back on a seat, he pushed her away roughly. “Get lost, Yan Molun. You’re too much. You actually dare to throw me.”