Sissy (Niang Niang Qiang) - Chap 36
Chapter 36
“Sis?”
“Well, well, well…look who took the initiative to call! The beginning is promising.”
Shao Qun’s tone was not very good: “I want to talk to you about the photos.”
“Oh, that.” Shao Wen’s voice did not waver at all, “Is something wrong?”
“Why did you post that picture in the newspaper?”
Shao Wen snorted: “Isn’t that a good thing? Dad saw it and said that you two look good together, since you’re both so tall.”
“Big sis!” Shao Qun said angrily, “Don’t worry about my affairs. Since I already promised you, I won’t go back on my word. If you keep giving me trouble, I won’t marry anyone.”
Shao Wen paused and asked in a probing tone: “Shao Qun, what’s the matter with you? Even if I did this behind your back, is it worth it to get so worked up about it? There must be something else going on there. Tell me.”
“There’s nothing else.”
“Nothing?” Shao Wen sneered, “If you don’t say it, then I’ll just take a guess. I think…Could it be because of that little whore you’re keeping?.”
Shao Qun said impatiently, “He’s not a whore.”
“Really? So it’s because of him?” Shao Wen said coldly, “Shao Qun, are you angry with your own sister because of him?
“Why am I now suddenly the asshole? Originally everything was fine. It all went according to your wishes. Why would you set my backyard on fire when it doesn’t even concern you?”
“Shao Qun!” Shao Wen said angrily, “Do you know what you are doing right now? I have my own reasons for what I did, and all these reasons are for your own good. Why the attitude, huh?”
“Sister! Didn’t I explain it just now? Originally, everything was fine. Then you made trouble for me, don’t you understand?”
“I made trouble for you? You’re about to get married. What’s so great about keeping a man older than you in your house anyway? I’ve been too lazy to care about your messy affairs for so many years, because I thought you also didn’t give a shit. But now you know that it’s serious. Qi Ming is different from the other men and women around you. In the future, she will be presented to the world as your wife. If you cause any trouble, or a word about your “hobbies” spreads around, you will shame the whole Shao family. How dare you?”
“What do you even know? Qi Ming understands everything better than you. We already agreed that she won’t ask me about this stuff as long as it doesn’t go public. If it wasn’t for the unnecessary thing that you did, everything would have been just fine. Nothing would have happened! Nothing at all!”
Shao Wen took a few deep breaths on the other end of the phone: “Shao Qun, I don’t want to argue anymore, whether I did anything wrong or not. It’s already done. What I want to talk about is your current attitude.”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“But that’s the whole point! How can you throw accusations at your own sister because of some dispensable…partner?”
“It has nothing to do with who he is…”
“Do you think I’m a fucking idiot? You’ve never been like this before. So what if he found out? So what if your backyard caught on fire? I think it’s the right time for you to part with him now. Or, is he really worth throwing tantrums at your sister?”
“I said it has nothing to do with him. I just didn’t like what you did.”
“Shao Qun, now you are changing the subject..”
Shao Qun was so angry that he kicked the trash can next to the table: “I don’t want to tell you anything more. Anyway, in the future, don’t meddle in the affairs between me and Qi Ming or me and that man. Leave it alone. As long as you keep your paws away, everything will go according to your wishes.”
Shao Wen said coldly: “Is that right? Now I’m really starting to wonder…”
Shao Qun hung up the phone and threw it to the ground in a fit of rage.He then irritably tugged at his hair.
Shao Qun felt very uncomfortable. He was brought up by his eldest sister. She could easily guess what was on his mind. He really hoped that she could be reasonable from now on. Shao Qun didn’t want to get married and felt like he was being forced. And most of all, he didn’t want Li Chengxiu to know anything about this matter.
There was a light knock on the door. Shao Qun fixed his hair and opened the door of the study.
Li Chengxiu smiled and looked at him, holding a bowl of steaming soup in his hands.
“Still working? How about a bowl of chicken soup?”
Shao Qun nodded: “Put it on the table.”
Li Chengxiu carefully placed the bowl on the table and then picked up a shattered mobile from the ground with a surprised “huh?”[12]
“Did something happen?”
“It’s nothing.” Shao Qun sat on the sofa and patted his thigh, “Come here.”
Li Chengxiu obediently sat down in his lap and couldn’t help straightening Shao Qun’s messy hair.
Shao Qun put his arms around him gently and asked casually, “How’s your job search going?”
Li Chengxiu was surprised that Shao Qun would take the initiative to ask him about it. He said happily: “Tomorrow…I have two interviews. I’m hopeful for both of them.”
Shao Qun nodded: “I’ll find a decent job for you when you pass your accounting exam. You won’t have to work in the kitchen in the future, okay?”
Li Chengxiu’s eyes lit up: “Okay! Thank you!”
Shao Qun smiled wearily, tightened his arms, put his nose against Li Chengxiu’s shoulder and smelled the fragrance of his fresh and clean body.
Li Chengxiu saw that his attitude was very good today, so he felt that the timing was good to finally say something: “Shao Qun, after I find a job… I think, I’ll move out.”
Shao Qun raised his head suddenly, narrowed his eyes, and his voice immediately dropped an octave: “What did you just say?”
Li Chengxiu’s back froze. He realized that he had said something that he really shouldn’t have said. At this moment, it was difficult to drop the subject anymore, so he had to ride the tiger till the end.
“I can’t… always live in your house,” he stammered.
Shao Qun frowned and said, “What’s the difference between my house and your house? You are mine. If you don’t live with me, where do you plan to live then? You want to go back to your kennel? Do you enjoy abusing yourself or something? Even if you’re willing to live there, I’m not willing to visit you there.”
Li Chengxiu was dumbfounded. Even if he had thousands of good reasons, he could only keep silent when faced with Shao Qun’s displeasure. And now it wasn’t because Li Chengxiu cared so much about Shao Qun but rather because he was afraid of him.
Afraid that he would be unhappy, afraid that he would be dissatisfied, afraid that he would be disgusted and sarcastic, afraid that he would call him a “sissy”, afraid that he would slam the door and leave.
Li Chengxiu kept backing off step by step, giving up his territories one by one, hoping that it would reduce the tension between them and help preserve the relationship.
His character was originally very weak. And he became even weaker in front of powerful people.
Li Chengxiu sighed softly and whispered, “Just saying…whatever…”
Shao Qun rolled his eyes and said, “I really don’t have any energy to chat with you today…let’s just go to sleep. And I won’t be discussing such trivial things in the future.”
Li Chengxiu lowered his eyelids and nodded lightly.
Early next morning, after sending Shao Qun off to work, Li Chengxiu got ready and went for the job interview.
After all the applications he had sent, he received an answer from the largest hotel he had applied to. Li Chengxiu had really high hopes for it.
He arrived at the front desk and explained the purpose of his visit. Right afterwards he was taken to an office, where they asked him to wait for the manager.
Li Chengxiu sat quietly in his chair and waited.
After about ten minutes, the door of the office opened with a “click”. Li Chengxiu hurriedly stood up and turned to look at the person who came in.
He was stunned after he saw who that was.
The person who came in turned out to be manager Zhang from the hotel where he used to work before.
Manager Zhang didn’t seem at all surprised to see Li CHengxiu here. He sat down on the chair and said: “Xiao Li, please take a seat.”
Li Chengxiu looked at him blankly, not knowing whether to sit down or to walk out.
“Just sit down.” Manager Zhang raised his voice.
Li Chengxiu hesitated for a while, but still complied in the end: “Manager Zhang…”
“Long time no see, Xiao Li. I was quite surprised when I saw your resume. It’s quite a coincidence.”
“You… how did you…”
“How did I end up here? Yes, this hotel is indeed not as good as the one I worked in before. And the treatment is worse. Why do you think I came here? Is it not because of your Young Master Shao?”
Li Chengxiu stood up uncomfortably: “I’m leaving.”
“Hey! Come on. Don’t go, don’t go! Sit down. I have something to tell you. Don’t worry, I’m not blaming you for anything.”
“Tell me what?”
“Something you might be interested in. For example, what Shao Qun did in order to capture you and what he did to make you stay at home to serve him all day long.”
Li Chengxiu’s face turned pale: “Wha… what did you say?”
Manager Zhang pointed to the chair: “Sit.”
Li Chengxiu sat down tremblingly, staring at Manager Zhang without blinking.
Manager Zhang said, “Let me ask you first, are you still together with Shao Qun?”
Li Chengxiu nodded with some uncertainty
Manager Zhang sighed: “Xiao Li, in fact, I’ve always been quite satisfied with you. And I’ve never had any grudges against you. I’m very sorry to see such an honest person like you being fooled by Shao Qun.”
“What’s your purpose here?”
“I just want to tell you what kind of person Shao Qun is. But you have to promise me that no matter what you hear today, you can’t let Shao Qun know that I was the one who told you. This job was not easy to come by. But I really can’t keep swallowing this anymore. So please, promise me.”
Li Chengxiu nodded stiffly: “I promise.”
“Good. I know that you are an honest person, and your word means something. I’ll be honest, this thing with you and Shao Qun is really unfortunate.”
“Wha… what is wrong with him?”
“He has done a lot of wicked things. So where do I even start? Right, at the very beginning, Shao Qun and President Chen discussed lending you out to work for him for two weeks. I happened to be right next to them when they were talking. At the time, Mr. Chen didn’t really understand why he needed to borrow you for such a long time. I mean, does one really need two weeks to prepare a meal on one particular day? Do you know what Shao Qun told him? He was very direct. He said outright that he fancied you, and he needed some time to get you in his hands. Mr. Chen didn’t believe that only two weeks would be enough for that. Shao Qun said that, if he didn’t believe it, he could bet a 600-year-old tortoiseshell specimen in his office. If Shao Qun managed to get what he wanted, Mr.Chen would have to send him that specimen. Well…you know the result of that bet.”
Li Chengxiu’s face was bloodless. He thought of the tortoiseshell specimen in Shao Qun’s study. Every time Li Chengxiu saw it, he would sigh, thinking that if it was alive, it would be a living fossil.
He didn’t know that it came from President Chen’s office.
Li Chengxiu saw black spots in front of his eyes…
Manager Zhang gave him a sympathetic look: “This is just one of many. Remember the time I helped you move into that apartment? It was Shao Qun who asked me to do it. Xiao Li, you probably thought that he felt bad for you and thus found you a good place to live, right? Actually, he just thought that your living conditions were too poor for him to visit you at your place. Do you think I would be willing to help you move on my day off? That was not an order from President Chen.”
Li Chengxiu looked at him blankly.
Manager Zhang shook his head: “Also, do you remember that time when Shao Qun had a fight with those guys in the hotel? I actually ended up here because of that fucking thing. Did you ever wonder why I was pestering you day after day as if I had nothing better to do, even though my only wish was that people would work peacefully under my management? It’s all because Shao Qun asked me to do it. ”
Li Chengxiu finally got really agitated and said in a trembling voice, “I…I don’t believe it… you… you…”
“You still don’t believe it? You are so stupid. He asked me to find a way to make you quit. Why? Because, if you go to work, you can’t serve him at home every day. He’s keeping you as his sugar baby, don’t you get it?”
Li Chengxiu abruptly got up from his chair. The heavy solid wooden chair made a loud “bang” due to his movements. Li Chengxiu’s expression was somewhere between anger, panic, agitation, and helplessness against the enemy who was about to invade.
Manager Zhang’s eyes did not flicker at all. He kept looking directly at Li Chengxiu.
Li Chengxiu took a few deep breaths before sitting down again. He then said witlessly, “Go ahead.”
Manager Zhang lit up a cigarette and said while puffing out clouds of mist: “I really didn’t expect you to be able to bear all of that harassment at the time and still continue to go to work every day. So Shao Qun was unhappy, and he called me several times to urge me to hurry up. But I still wasn’t allowed to fire you. You had to resign voluntarily. I had no other choice but to ask Xiao Liu to trap you somewhere and scare you. Who would have thought that Shao Qun would come by and start a fight? President Chen fired me in order to make amends to him. Fucking shit.”
Manager Zhang said angrily, “I still have to support my wife and children. Rich people are fucking assholes.”
Li Chengxiu was speechless. He felt that his heart was just split in two, and it hurt to even move his fingers.
Why did everything Manager Zhang say sound so true? And if it was true, what should Li Chengxiu do then?
Basically, he really liked somebody and thought that they were in love with each other. But then he found out that that person only regarded him as a lover who can be bought by money. How could there be such a horrible thing in the world?
Li Chengxiu felt dizzy, and everything blurred in front of his eyes when he looked at the floor. Very slowly he bent down and hugged his head.
Manager Zhang sighed and shook his head: “Xiao Li, in this matter I have also wronged you.
But I had no other choice. Tell me, how can I refuse when people like Shao Qun ask me for something? I didn’t want to help him with those wicked things. And it also didn’t end well for me. I guess, this is my retribution. To be honest, if you had already broken up with him, I wouldn’t be telling you this. But since you’re still together, I want to warn you, because I feel very guilty towards you. Besides, you are an honest person with your heart on your sleeve. It’s easy for you to be hurt. After all, for two men to be together is never a long-term thing. So don’t be too sad. You might as well take advantage of the fact that you’re with him now to get some more money.
I know that you’re not well off, so since this is not a permanent arrangement, create some options for yourself. I’m telling you, you don’t owe him anything. Shao Qun is really a bastard.”
Li Chengxiu raised his head, his eyes were red. He stood up, while holding onto the armrests, and nodded to Manager Zhang: “I’m leaving now.”
Manager Zhang got up, grabbed him and took out a business card from his pocket: “I’m sorry, Xiao Li, this hotel can’t hire you. If Shao Qun finds out, I won’t be able to keep my job here either. This is my friend’s business card. There is a shortage of chefs at his place. You can go there to ask for a job. I told him about you beforehand.”
Li Chengxiu didn’t even look at the business card. He closed his eyes, shook his head, turned around and staggered away.
He didn’t know how far he walked along the road. He was like a wandering lost soul. Finally he sat down on a park bench.
As soon as he did, he started crying.
At this time, he realized how sad it was to not have any friends or relatives. He didn’t have anyone he could talk to, so when he was sad, all he could do was hold it in.
Was that true what Manager Zhang said? Was that the truth?
Is it possible that he just wanted revenge on Shao Qun for losing his job?
That tortoiseshell was probably just gifted to Shao Qun by President Chen.
The apartment…the apartment was arranged by Shao Qun for his own good.
And about the fight… Wasn’t it just a random colleague who didn’t like him?
Was Manager Zhang lying to him? Was he twisting the facts in such a way that it would seem true what he was saying when in fact he was lying?
At such a time, shouldn’t he trust his lover instead of a stranger who is trying to sow discord?
However, why was there a tiny voice in Li Chengxiu’s heart whispering that every word that Manager Zhang said was true.
Should he go back and ask Shao Qun? But what will happen after he asks? No matter what the answer was, Li Chengxiu didn’t want to see the fallout. What should he do?
During this early spring morning in the park only a couple of elderly people were exercising and chatting with each other. Li Chengxiu sat alone on the cold stone bench, feeling the cold air all over his body, which made his hands and his feet freeze. The unstoppable tears kept running down his cold red face. The boundless darkness of this world made Li Chengxiu feel even more insignificant and hopeless.
