Sissy (Niang Niang Qiang) - Chap 39
Chapter 39
An hour later, the doorbell rang, and Shao Qun opened the gate door for Li Chengxiu from the inside, and then went on to open the villa door too: “Why didn’t you take the key with you when you left?”
Li Chengxiu’s face was as white as a piece of paper. When he saw Shao Qun in front of him, his whole body started shaking.
Shao Qun dragged him inside the house, surprised: “What’s wrong with you? I’ve been gone only for a few days. How did you manage to lose so much weight?”
Li Chengxiu anxiously glanced at him and gently pushed away the hand that was holding his arm.
Shao Qun frowned: “What’s wrong?”
Li Chengxiu looked at him.
This was still the same Shao Qun. Except for a little tan, nothing had changed. But to Li Chengxiu, he looked like a stranger. They were apart for a week, but it felt like a lifetime had passed.
Shao Qun felt that something was wrong with Li Chengxiu. It seemed as if he had lost his soul. He had never seen such Li Chengxiu before.
“Chengxiu, what’s wrong with you?” Shao Qun pulled him into the room, “Come in first.”
Li Chengxiu was basically dragged into the house by him.
Shao Qun looked at him with worry: “What happened? Tell me.”
Li Chengxiu took out something from his pocket: “Here is 40,000 RMB[15]. I’ll return the rest in the next two years.”
Shao Qun looked at the dark red bank book. He was stunned: “What do you mean?”
“I’ve already moved out. I’ll return the rest of the money to you.”
Shao Qun gritted his teeth and asked again, “What do you mean?”
Li Chengxiu’s eyes were red. As if he was in great pain, he said witlessly, “Shao Qun, let’s break up.”
Shao Qun showed an expression of disbelief. He widened his eyes and raised his voice: “What did you just say?”
Li Chengxiu used all his strength to repeat: “Let’s break up.”
Shao Qun grabbed Li Chengxiu’s neck. His eyes were bloodshot, as he ruthlessly said, “Do you dare to repeat what you just said?”
Li Chengxiu’s nose slightly twitched, and his clear eyes slowly became misty. He choked and said, “Shao Qun, you’re getting married. Let’s break up.”
“Who the fuck told you that?”
“Your third sister.” Li Chengxiu pushed Shao Qun’s arm hard and looked at him sadly, “When you guys telephoned, I was by her side.”
Shao Qun’s heart trembled, and he dropped his arms. He tore at his hair and exhaled heavily: “Chengxiu, sit down and let’s talk.”
Li Chengxiu shook his head, wiped his eyes and put the bankbook on the table: “I’m leaving.”
With his long legs, Shao Qun was faster than Li Chengxiu and was already blocking his path. Angrily he said, “Can’t you at least talk to me? How can you just leave like that?”
Li Chengxiu sniffed and said in a trembling voice, “I said…if you get married, you should tell me… why didn’t you tell me?”
Shao Qun became angry: “Why the hell would I need to tell you? It’s none of your business whether I get married or not!”
There was a hint of despair on Li Chengxiu’s face, and he turned again to leave.
Shao Qun tugged at his arm and said sternly, “Is it such a bad thing for us? I’ll treat you the same way when I’m married. Why the fuck are you so braindead? If I don’t marry a woman, can I marry you instead, huh? We can still be together. It doesn’t change anything if I get married or not. I can fucking treat you even better. What the fuck are you making a fuss about?”
Li Chengxiu raised his head and looked at him with pain on his face: “Shao Qun, what do you think of me?”
“I…” Shao Qun was about to speak, but he was suddenly too stunned. What did he think of Li Chengxiu? He regarded him as a little pet that he had trained. Albeit a pet that Shao Qun was much more interested in than the others he had trained before.
Tears gradually fell from his eyes, and Li Chengxiu choked up: “Shao Qun, tell me, was the tortoiseshell in your study given to you by President Chen because of me?”
Shao Qun was startled.
“I was forced to resign from the hotel. Did you do it?”
Shao Qun’s eyes glistened, and his Adam’s apple moved up and down.
His expression was basically a tacit agreement.
Li Chengxiu’s vision blurred. He didn’t know this person in front of him.
“Shao Qun, I thought that we… liked each other…but you…you were just…keeping me..”
Shao Qun lowered his eyes and cursed angrily. His third sister was a happy-go-lucky person, who never cared much about his affairs. She had absolutely no reason to come here, so this was definitely on behest of his eldest sister.
Li Chengxiu rubbed his eyes hard and tried to push Shao Qun away.
Shao Qun grabbed his hand. His cheeks were puffed up, and he seemed to be holding back something. He lowered his voice and coaxed: “Chengxiu, stop making trouble. I already told you that my marriage will not affect us in the slightest. You can continue living here, and I will come to accompany you very often. When I go back to Beijing in the future, I promise, I will take you with me…”
Li Chengxiu closed his eyes in pain.
Every word that Shao Qun said was like a knife, slashing at his heart.
This person…this person… He was wrong. He was so wrong.
Shao Qun eagerly held Li Chengxiu’s face and lowered his head to kiss him, but Li Chengxiu suddenly pushed him away.
Shao Qun was unprepared at that moment, so his waist hit the dining table. The impact was not painful, but it still made him angry.
“Have you had enough of this shit already? What the hell do you want? How much do you think you are worth? Do you really think I can’t do without you?”
Shaking, Li Chengxiu turned around and staggered outside.
Shao Qun’s breathing paused.Instantly, an inexplicable fear emerged in his chest.
Something hit Li Chengxiu’s back. He grunted and stumbled. If he hadn’t been holding on to the wall, he would have fallen to the ground.
Shao Qun seemed to have just regained his senses. He looked at the iron ashtray on the ground. Although it was not heavy, the hit was definitely painful.
Shao Qun’s hands were shaking a little, as he went up to check on him: “Chengxiu…”
Li Chengxiu suddenly turned his face towards him. His tearful eyes showed sorrow, and he whispered, “Don’t come closer… don’t come closer.”
Blue veins bulged up on Shao Qun’s forehead. He raised his foot and kicked the delicate glass- reinforced plastic dining table to the ground, roaring: “Li Chengxiu, if you have the fucking guts to leave right now, don’t ever come back! I can snatch a younger, prettier, and smarter one off the street just like that! I treat you nice for a little, and you think you’re the shit? You really take yourself so seriously? Are you worthy of breaking up with me? Are you worthy at all? Who are you? Who the fuck do you think you are? Get out! Get the fuck out of here! Don’t ever let me see you again!”
Li Chengxiu rushed out the door without looking back.
Shao Qun was so furious that he lifted his chair and used it to smash a row of glass cabinets on the wall. When he turned around and saw the gifts he bought for Li Chengxiu, his eyes turned red with anger. He roughly opened the floor-to-ceiling window and threw all the things he had so carefully selected into the fish pond.
Shao Qun felt that the anger and anxiety in his chest couldn’t be quelled until he got so tired that he was out of breath. He smoked one cigarette after the other, but he couldn’t get the image of Li Chengxiu leaving without even turning his head out of his mind. Shao Qun wanted to burn the house down, so that Li Chengxiu, that ungrateful fool, would completely disappear from his life.
Successfully escaping from that house was like being baptized in pain and despair yet again. Li Chengxiu swore that he would never step foot into that place again. Let his memories and feelings be buried here – he just wanted to forget everything.
Just forget it… forget it, and it won’t hurt anymore. He won’t be sad, and he won’t be hurt again and again.
Li Chengxiu dragged his numb body back to his tiny newly-rented attic. As soon as he entered the door, Teacup jumped out of its nest bed and ran up to rub against Li Chengxiu’s trousers.
Li Chengxiu picked up the little thing, put it on the bed, and fed the dog one piece after the other.
At this time, there was at least someone to accompany Li Chengxiu through this, which was already much better than when he was a child. Back then, he couldn’t even support himself. At least now, he could afford to keep Teacup, and he could even afford the most expensive dog food. Teacup relied on him – it would never lie to him, hurt him, or betray him.
He rubbed Teacup’s soft little body against his cheek again and again: “Teacup…tomorrow I’ll buy you…something delicious.”
Li Chengxiu went to the restaurant to report the next day. The restaurant wasn’t big, but the owner was very nice and friendly. Although he had to go through two months of trial period, if he could become a regular employee, the salary would be quite good. Knowing that his situation was difficult, the owner also promised to subsidize his accommodation after he became a regular.
Li Chengxiu had one day off a week, three morning shifts, and three night shifts. The setup was very reasonable. Li Chengxiu could easily get used to this kind of workload.
Adrian called him on his first day at work.
Small restaurants were not as strict as big hotels, so nobody minded that he had his phone on during work hours.
Li Chengxiu happened to be idle at the time, so he picked up the phone.
“Hey, Chengxiu, are you at work?”
“Yes, right now.”
“I’ll go to your place for lunch at noon. Can you join me to eat?”
“No, I have to work.”
“Then what time do you get off work?”
“Four p.m.”
“Ah, that’s great! Then after work I’ll take you to a Yunnan cuisine restaurant. It’s really delicious, and it’s not far from here.”
“But…” Li Chengxiu needed to go home to feed the dog.
“Ok, that’s all! I’ll call you at four and pick you up.”
Adrian happily hung up the phone, and Li Chengxiu stared at his screen in a daze.
After Li Chengxiu got off work, Adrian really came to pick him up.
Before Adrian could honk his horn, Li Chengxiu already knew it was him as soon as he saw the big red sports car.
Adrian opened the car door for him with a smile: “It seems to be getting warmer outside.”
Li Chengxiu nodded: “It seems so.”
Just as Adrian was about to drive off, he suddenly turned to look at Li Chengxiu: “Huh? I haven’t seen you for a few days – how did you manage to lose so much weight so quickly? How did you do it? Come on, teach me your secret!”
Li Chengxiu lowered his head in embarrassment.
Adrian moved closer to him, so close in fact that his small white face almost touched Li Chengxiu’s face. He then blinked at him, “Chengxiu, what’s the matter with you? It looks like you’re in a bad state.”
Li Chengxiu shook his head.
“Ah… Did you have a fight with Shao Qun?”
Hearing that name made Li Chengxiu freeze.
Adrian was very attentive, so he immediately caught that reaction. Suddenly he exclaimed: “You broke up with him!”
Li Chengxiu raised his eyes slightly and nodded numbly.
Adrian shouted: “It’s a good thing! It’s such a good thing! Uh…” Adrian suddenly fell silent and asked cautiously, “Chengxiu, are you sad?”
Li Chengxiu’s nose was slightly sour, and he whispered, “I want… to go home…to feed the dog. I don’t want to go… to dinner.” He opened the door to get out of the car.
Adrian hurriedly pressed the car lock and jumped up to hug Li Chengxiu, startling him.
Adrian patted his head lightly: “Baby, don’t be sad. I’ll be honest with you, it’s a good thing that you broke up with him. I knew it would happen sooner or later… Shao Qun is not worthy of you. I will find you a better one. Don’t be sad, okay?”
Adrian smelled good. Although his shoulders were not very broad, they were warm, and Li Chengxiu’s stiff body gradually relaxed.
Adrian took Li Chengxiu to dinner. The entire time he kept talking about Shao Qun’s various bad deeds, recounting some of the absurd things he did in Beijing before[16]. Only then was Li Chengxiu fully convinced that the Shao Qun he knew was miles away from the real Shao Qun.
After eating, Adrian wanted to take Li Chengxiu out for drinks, but Li Chengxiu insisted on going back to feed the dog. Adrian became curious and said that he definitely must meet the dog.
Li Chengxiu said helplessly: “I don’t have a place to sit.”
“Huh? What do you mean you don’t have a place to sit?”
Li Chengxiu explained: “My house is very small.”
Adrian exclaimed in surprise, “You broke up with Shao Qun and didn’t even get a decent house?”
Amongst this crowd, it was a common rule to bestow a break-up gift. Otherwise, why would all these rich people, no matter how shitty they were, have dozens of beauties rushing to be at their side and treat them nicely?
Li Chengxiu shook his head. He didn’t understand how he could still live in someone else’s house after breaking up.
“You idiot!” Adrian poked his forehead with his finger. “You’ve been sleeping with him for over a year for nothing! So now he says he doesn’t want to be with you anymore, and you get nothing out of it? What do you figure?”
Li Chengxiu turned his head away silently.
Adrian shook his head and sighed again. He picked up the phone and said, “Just you wait! I’ll make him cough something up for you. Shit, how can he bully people like that?”
Li Chengxiu was shocked and quickly held Adrian’s hand: “No… no need…we’re not in contact anymore…”
“Even if you’re not in contact with him, I’m in contact with him. You can’t miss out on the house, the car, etc… Don’t worry, you can get at least a few million out of this. Shao Qun is good for it.”
Li Chengxiu was about to cry. He tightly grabbed Adrian’s hand: “No, please don’t.” Li Chengxiu currently had enough for food and clothing, and he still owed money to Shao Qun. He couldn’t let him look down on him even more.
Adrian was getting angry: “What the hell are you thinking? Are you really that stupid or are you pretending?”
Li Chengxiu shook his head: “I don’t need it… now…it’s all fine.”
Adrian lowered his hand and looked at Li Chengxiu with pity. After a long while, he finally put away his phone and said helplessly: “How about we try it? You and me? I’ve had a bit of a dry spell lately, and I’ve never been with a pure bottom before. Let’s give it a go!”
Li Chengxiu looked at him awkwardly. He really couldn’t tell when Adrian was joking and when he was serious.
Adrian blinked: “Come on, give me a kiss first to see what it tastes like!” Then he got closer and puckered his lips.
Li Chengxiu was startled and quickly moved away.
Adrian pouted: “Hmph, so you don’t like me…”
“No, that’s not it……”
“Don’t say anything anymore! I’ll find a masculine guy for you.”
“No… no need… thank you…”
Seeing that Adrian was about to dial somebody again, Li Chengxiu quickly held his hand and pleaded, “Adrian…”
Adrian gave him a hateful glare: “Were you born this cheap? You don’t even think about yourself.Is there a problem with your brain?”
On the way to Li Chengxiu’s house, Adrian was providing him with valuable education.
You should make money, while you’re still young. When you get old and decrepit, there will be no one rushing in to provide for you anymore. No matter who you fall in love with, you should always prepare escape routes for yourself. The ones who don’t do it, will run into very bad luck sooner or later. The more honest you are, the more people will want to take advantage of you. Being upright and honest is the same thing as writing “I am easy to bully. Bully me!” on your forehead.
Although Li Chengxiu disagreed with many of Adrian’s theories, he was still very grateful that someone cared so much about him.
Adrian dropped him off at his place, but didn’t go in. When he just looked at the appearance of that house, it made him shake his head. He immediately volunteered to help Li Chengxiu find another place to live.
Li Chengxiu politely refused.
Although the house was small, it was still his own territory.
He didn’t dare to owe others favors any more. Who knew what the price would be?
