Four-Faced Buddha [To My Shore] - Chap 58
Chapter 58 You Played a Trick on Me, Were You Involved?
2024-10-13 07:24 Category: Four-Faced BuddhaTurn off the lights
Unusually, You Shulang hosted a party and invited people to drink, the main purpose of which was to thank Xue Baotian for his care for Bohai Pharmaceutical.
Many people were invited, including Fan Xiao and Shi Lihua. Xue Baotian also gave them face and didn’t cause any more trouble.
The atmosphere was good. Some people were shouting into microphones, while others were having heart-to-heart talks with girls. Xue Baotian was flattered by the gentle words of praise, and his anger gradually dissipated. He clinked glasses with Fan Xiao and You Shulang a few times and became more talkative.
He hugged a girl and gave her a quick kiss, then sighed, “This is what life is all about!”
“Let’s play a few rounds?” You Shulang suggested.
No one objected, and the guests of honor gathered together to start playing cards. You Shulang shuffled and cut the cards with fluid, graceful movements, but for some reason, Fan Xiao’s eyelid twitched.
You Shulang was as usual today, composed and tactful, and treated him no differently. However, the occasional glance he cast at him seemed to carry a light, elusive chill.
Fan Xiao blamed himself for being overly suspicious and subconsciously rubbed the four-faced Buddha on his chest to suppress the vague unease in his heart.
“It’s no fun just drinking after losing,” You Shulang said as he dealt the cards. “How about something more exciting?”
Xue Baotian’s eyes lit up: “Director You, the more I look at you, the more I like you. Let’s play, let’s play, the more exciting the better!”
Shi Lihua was also subtly excited. He switched the Bodhi bracelet to his other wrist, raised his eyebrows, and said, “Come on.”
Fan Xiao frowned almost imperceptibly. He knew You Shulang’s personality best and knew he would never suggest playing any exciting games.
This is unusual.
You Shulang, who never smokes in public, took the cigarette off his lips, tapped it to remove the ash, revealing a faint red glow, before putting it back in his mouth, holding the cards, and looking back at Fan Xiao: “President Fan, where are you? Want to play?”
Their eyes met, but Fan Xiao failed to decipher the deeper meaning in You Shulang’s eyes. Wanting to appease him, he replied softly, “I’ll do whatever Director You says.”
Turning his face away, You Shulang continued dealing cards, his slender fingers holding the last card as he tossed it out, then pushed the pre-pouring wine towards the group.
Six wine cups were placed on a silver wine rack engraved with intricate patterns. The brown wine soup was like a fuse pulling at the allure of a chance encounter, dangerous yet tempting.
You Shulang glanced at the wine and slowly said, “Six cups of wine, one of which is spiked. The loser can take any cup he wants, and what he drinks is up to fate.”
One sentence shocked the other three men!
This scene seems familiar!
Shi Lihua finally remembered that seven or eight months ago, in this bar, in what seemed to be this private room, they had a hostess pretend to be Xue Baotian’s female subordinate in order to teach You Dashan a lesson. They also deliberately spiked You Shulang’s drink in front of him and made it look like they had ulterior motives towards the girl.
All night long, they watched with great interest as You Shulang anxiously tried to save the person time and time again, but almost failed. In the end, he had no choice but to drink the spiked wine himself!
Now, You Shulang is playing this kind of game out of the blue. None of them are stupid; they know this means they’ve been exposed!
Shi Lihua subconsciously looked at Fan Xiao, and Xue Baotian chuckled and also looked at Fan Xiao.
You Shulang observed the subtle expressions of the two men, and finally, he too turned his gaze to Fan Xiao.
The man lowered his eyes, his expression unreadable, and leaned slightly forward, elbows resting on his knees, to reach for the matches on the bar. Turning the matches was a subtle gesture Fan Xiao made when he was irritable or secretly angry; only those closest to him knew it.
As his fingertips moved forward little by little, You Shulang’s heart sank. Just as he clenched his fist, his hand stopped halfway and instead picked up a glass of yellow liquor from the shelf.
With a flick of his wrist, Fan Xiao swallowed the wine in his cup!
Everyone: “!!!”
The wine glass was returned to its place, and the man looked relaxed: “Director You was just joking. You don’t know him. He’s the most law-abiding person. He wouldn’t even drive in his own yard after drinking. He wouldn’t do these kinds of tricks. He was just teasing you.”
As he spoke, he subtly tugged at You Shulang’s sleeve, a small gesture that lovers would use to give each other pointers.
At this moment, the person who was howling suddenly hit a high note, and the sudden crack in his voice diverted some of Xue Baotian and Shi Lihua’s attention. Fan Xiao then turned his head and whispered to You Shulang amidst the upbeat melody: “Now is not the time to deal with Xue Baotian. He just helped you with the Bohai matter, so you can’t touch him. There will be plenty of opportunities to teach him a lesson later.”
“Do you think I’m going to punish him?”
“Otherwise what?” Fan Xiao lowered his voice even further. “He’s a bastard, but now is definitely not a good time to deal with him.”
You Shulang looked coldly at Fan Xiao, recalling his conversation with the hostess in this room yesterday.
The girl remained beautiful, wearing a white dress and with a light touch of powder on her face, standing out from her peers.
She lit a cigarette, not hiding the weariness in her eyes: “I’m the innocent type, and many men like that.”
“I remember you.” The girl exhaled smoke. “One of the few good people I’ve ever met. Back then, I thought you were foolish—was it worth helping a complete stranger?”
“It’s worth it.” You Shulang unscrewed a bottle of water and pushed it in front of the girl. “I’ll help if I can, but I won’t force myself to help if I can’t.”
The smoke dissipated, and after a moment of silence, the girl said in a seductive voice, “You came to see me because you have something to ask me?”
“Yes, can you tell me who played a trick on me last time?”
The girl laughed and teased, “You only realize they were playing you now? You’re such a dummy.”
She hesitated for a moment: “You know, in our line of work, you have to keep your mouth shut, or you won’t have anything to eat.”
“I know, and I understand.” You Shulang opened his wallet. “If you know how much I’m paying, can you tell me?”
The girl scoffed, glancing at her wallet: “You still look down on us for what we do, don’t you?” She stubbed out her slender cigarette in the ashtray. “Buy me a lollipop, and I’ll tell you.”
She tilted her head back, looking forlorn and sorrowful: “Who told you to be the only good person I’ve met since I entered this industry?”
You Shulang recalled the girl’s last words: “They’re all fucking bad people, they’re all just making a fool of you.”
“All of them?” He also remembered his hoarse voice at the time.
The girl pondered for a moment before saying, “The man sitting in the main seat didn’t say much, but I think he knew.”
Are you sure?
“Well… I’m not entirely sure, but our women’s intuition is usually very accurate. Although he may appear to be uninvolved on the surface, he’s definitely not a good person.”
The girl stood up with a lollipop in her mouth: “Good girl, you can’t mess with those people. They’re all rich bastards. Stay far away from them and don’t even think about revenge.”
The girl’s back looked lonely and forlorn as she walked out of the exceptionally wide and ornate door, like a faint, easily erased line segment.
Coming to his senses, You Shulang suddenly felt weary, fed up with this back-and-forth probing and feigned politeness. He stared intently at Fan Xiao, then asked Xue Baotian bluntly, “Vice President Xue, was that female subordinate you had last time a fake? Was she someone you found at the last minute to trick me?”
He picked up a glass of wine and swirled it gently: “The stuff added to the wine is real. When I drank it, didn’t you guys think it was fun and exciting?”
“!!!”
All three men were shocked, but Fan Xiao’s expression changed the fastest. He glanced at Xue Baotian, who was still in a daze, and immediately threw out a sentence in Thai.
“Sorry, I switched to Thai in my haste.” He switched back to Mandarin without the slightest apology, his low and gentle tone seemingly trying to ease the tension between You Shulang and Xue Baotian.
“Vice President Xue, Director You is a bit bothered by that incident back then. What were the circumstances? Perhaps we could trouble the young master to explain it to you, so that there will be no misunderstandings once things are cleared up.”
“Fuck you…” Xue Baotian wanted nothing more than to rip open Fan Xiao’s pants and expose his most wicked nature. But the incomprehensible Thai words he had just heard instantly reminded him that if he revealed Fan Xiao’s secrets, all the connections he had painstakingly built would be ruined!
Just as he hesitated, Shi Lihua’s cool voice interrupted.
“Director You, it was I who wanted to play you back then.”
Everyone: “!!!”
Shi Lihua, who doesn’t smoke, tossed one into his mouth and said, “I didn’t like you back then. I thought you were after something when you were hanging around Fan Xiao. You were also too pretentious. You were just a small office director, but you acted like you were being treated like royalty by Fan Xiao. So that day, I told the young master that I wanted to play a joke on you and tease you.”
“The Crown Prince meant no harm, but I did.”
“I don’t even look at you anymore.” Shi Lihua lit a cigarette. “Do you know how much money Fan Xiao spent on your brother? Is that all you’re after?!”
“Shi Lihua!” Fan Xiao said in a deep voice, “You’ve gone too far.”
He turned around and pulled You Shulang up, glancing at the other onlookers out of the corner of his eye, and said in a low voice, “Let’s go first, it’s not a good time to talk about this anymore.”
After You Shulang was pulled away by Fan Xiao, Xue Baotian finally realized what was going on: “Wait, what’s going on here? That bastard Fan Xiao is a good guy again?”
As soon as Fan Xiao stepped out of the bar, You Shulang slammed him against the wall and coldly asked, “Were you involved in playing me?”
Fan Xiao’s muscles tensed, but his words came out softly and aggrievedly: “How could I play you? I protected you all night that day, have you forgotten?”
The shackles tightened rather than loosened, and You Shulang leaned closer to Fan Xiao: “Then why were you so nervous just now?”
“Am I nervous?” Fan Xiao met You Shulang’s oppressive gaze. “I’m just afraid that you and Xue Baotian will fall out, and he’ll cause some more trouble.”
You Shulang chuckled softly, then reached out and placed his finger behind Fan Xiao’s ear, his cold fingertip slowly tracing down the skin there.
“Did you know that when you’re in a state of extreme panic, the veins here throb and pulsate? You hear the sound of waves, see the sea, or sink into a deep sleep in the darkness—all of these things cause this. Tonight, this place has moved three times. Don’t tell me you’re worried about Xue Baotian causing trouble; something of this magnitude wouldn’t bother you, would it, Mr. Fan?”
Fan Xiao was silent for a moment, then raised his sharp eyebrows: “Director You, are you convicting me based on this?”
You Shulang straightened up and released the restraints: “Yes, I don’t have concrete evidence, but I feel very uncomfortable.”
He turned and left, leaving behind the words, “Let’s not see each other anytime soon
