Sissy (Niang Niang Qiang) - Chap 44
Chapter 44
When Li Shuo received a call from his secretary, he was buried in a pile of documents and was tiredly massaging his temples.
He was absent from work for a few days due to taking care of Li Chengxiu, and now the work had piled up like a mountain.
The intercom phone rang. Li Shuo didn’t even lift his head and just fumbled to press the button.
“Mr. Li, Amy said that a certain Mr. Shao is looking for you…” The secretary’s voice was hesitant.
Li Shuo’s expression froze, and he slowly raised his head: “Mr. Shao?”
“Yes, he didn’t make an appointment. But Amy said that he seemed very aggressive and didn’t look like he was all there. Should we call security?”
Li Shuo responded with an affirmative “um” and then said: “Let him come up. You can call the security department and ask for a few people to stand outside my office. Also, call the police.”
“Oh…” the secretary hesitated.
“Do as I say and just let him come up.”
“……OK.”
When he got off the phone, Li Shuo put all the important documents into the drawer beside him, got up and stretched a little. He then pulled off his tie and undid the top button on his shirt.
After a while, there was a knock on the door.
Li Shuo called out to enter.
The lady from the front desk opened the door, led Shao Qun inside the office with a cold look on her face and then quickly backed away and closed the door behind her.
Shao Qun looked exactly the same as the first time Li Shuo met him. His clothes were bright and neat, his hair was layered and fixed with hair wax, not a trace of lint could be seen on his spotless coat, his pants were ironed straight, and his leather shoes were unbelievably shiny.
Despite all this, Li Shuo could still see that his condition was not very good.
As a man, he could understand that Shao Qun would never fall short in front of his love rival. But all this deliberate perfection was betrayed by the two dark circles under his eyes and his gloomy face.
One can’t hide when one is in high spirits, similarly, dejection and depression couldn’t be easily concealed either.
Shao Qun’s expression was that of a man who was ready to rush at Li Shuo and kill him at any moment.
Li Shuo crossed his hands on his chest, subconsciously taking a defensive posture. He looked at Shao Qun with contempt and ruthlessness in his eyes.
Shao Qun gritted his teeth and said, “Where is Li Chengxiu?”
Li Shuo snorted sarcastically: “Do you think I’ll tell you?”
Of course, Shao Qun knew that Li Shuo would never tell him anything easily. But right now, he really had a sense of urgency to find Li Chengxiu, and he had no other options but to come here.
After that night in the attic, he got himself drunk and slept all day and night.
He didn’t know where he went wrong.
Although Shao Qun was short-tempered and often caused trouble, he had always known the limits of what was appropriate. He had never felt that there was something out of the ordinary in the matter of Li Chengxiu. Everything that Li Chengxiu did was within the scope of Shao Qun’s control. So Li Chengxiu should have been firmly under his control! And he thought that he was treating him pretty well. How did it get to this point? This was really far from what he had expected.
Whether he was drunk or sober, he couldn’t free himself from this unfamiliar feeling of grief and anguish.
Shao Qun thought about Li Chengxiu so much that he was scared.
He was even more scared when the next day he went to see him again, and the landlady told him that Li Chengxiu had moved out and was taken to the hospital before he left.
Although in his heart he was still disgusted with Li Chengxiu’s and Li Shuo’s affair, he felt that this time he had really overdone it.
He had to get Li Chengxiu back. He could slowly think about what to do with him in the future, but he absolutely needed to get him back.
Shao Qun pointed at the bridge of Li Shuo’s nose, his eyes full of fire: “You fucking dare to steal what belongs to me? Why the hell did you meddle? Give him back to me now!”
Li Shuo showed a disdainful expression: “You are not worthy of Chengxiu. Besides, he doesn’t want to see a brute like you ever again in his life.”
Shao Qun was so angry that his eyes turned red. He clenched his fists, took a step closer and said angrily: “If it wasn’t for you stirring trouble between the two of us, would he have left me? Don’t piss me off, Li or whatever your last name is!”
Li Shuo said coldly: “It’s your own fault that Chengxiu left you. I only met Chengxiu again after you two broke up. Don’t throw dirty water on others, just because you yourself lack in virtue. How dare you slander Chengxiu like this!”
Shao Qun was stunned for a moment, his body shaking a little: “Really…really?”
Did he misunderstand?
Shao Qun’s vision blurred for a moment, and his body suddenly turned cold.
Li Shuo looked at him with disgust: “If you didn’t come to me yourself, I was planning to find you anyway. I wanted to tell you that Chengxiu will have nothing to do with you in the future. I will be taking good care of him. If you still have any conscience left, don’t look for him again because seeing you might affect his mood really badly.”
Shao Qun’s eyes were full of bloodthirsty anger. He took another step forward, desperately suppressing the fist that he wanted to swing.
He really wanted to find out Li Chengxiu’s whereabouts from this man, so he could only resist the urge to beat him to death.
Unexpectedly, it was actually Li Shuo who rushed up to Shao Qun and punched him hard in the face.
He put all his strength into this punch, knocking Shao Qun to the ground at once.
All of Li Shuo’s anger was concentrated in his fist, and he was just about to throw a second punch when Shao Qun dodged, jumped up from the ground and rushed towards Li Shuo.
Without a word, both of them just continued fighting. Their eyes glowing red, it was as if both of them were wrestling against their mortal enemy.
The sounds coming from the office quickly attracted the attention of the people who were on standby outside, and several young and strong security guards rushed in.
They were there to help Li Shuo, so several men tried to pull the two of them apart first. It took a lot of effort to separate the fighters but finally three or four security guards could hold Shao Qun down, and Li Shuo took the opportunity to go up and kick him several times.
Shao Qun could not wait to kill Li Shuo. His eyes were bloodshot.
After a while, several police officers came in.
Li Shuo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a tissue and said lightly, while adjusting his clothes: “This person broke into my office for no reason and attacked me.”
Shao Qun had also regained his composure at this time. Although he knew it was humiliating, the only thing he regretted was that he didn’t punch this bastard Li Shuo a few more times just now.
Seeing this situation, the police naturally took Shao Qun away. Because it was clear that there was something wrong with Shao Qun.
Li Shuo looked at the surprised employees standing in his office who were all busy gathering their jaws off the floor. He reluctantly smiled and waved his hand: “He’s gone. Let’s go back to work.”
In the evening, Li Shuo went to visit Li Chengxiu.
Recently, he would often go to Li Chengxiu’s place to eat after work. Even if he worked late, he still went to have a late-night snack.
Li Chengxiu had already prepared the meal for him.
As soon as Li Chengxiu opened the door, he was startled by Li Shuo’s bruised cheeks.
“This… What happened?”
Li Shuo smiled: “It’s fine.”
Li Chengxiu let him into the room and asked, “Does it hurt? Did something happen?”
In Li Chengxiu’s impression, Li Shuo was by no means an impulsive person. He always calmly analyzed the pros and cons of everything, and he never did anything useless. Even if he encountered a robbery, Li Chengxiu thought that he would probably just pay off the thief to avoid trouble.
How could Li Shuo get into a fight?
Li Shuo turned his back to Li Chengxiu and put his coat on the hanger: “Shao Qun came by my company today..”
Li Chengxiu was shocked, and a look of pain appeared on his face.
Li Shuo turned his head and smiled lightly: “It’s been a long time since I had a fight with anyone, so I got to blow off some steam.”
Li Chengxiu looked at him guiltily: “I’m sor…”
Li Shuo waved his hand to stop him from apologizing: “Hey, you don’t have to say sorry. You have nothing to apologize for. If I didn’t teach him a lesson, I would have felt even worse.”
Li Chengxiu put Teacup with its silly expression on the sofa: “I’ll look for some medicine.”
“No.” Li Shuo took a step forward and held Li Chengxiu’s hand, “I already dealt with it. It’s all fine. The swelling will go away in a few days.”
Li Chengxiu was a little uncomfortable and too embarrassed to pull his hand back.
Li Shuo looked at him tenderly and said in a relaxed tone, “I have something for you. You will definitely like it.”
Li Chengxiu nodded.
Li Shuo took out a red leather booklet from his pocket and turned the cover towards Li Chengxiu: “Your junior accounting certificate.”
Li Chengxiu widened his eyes.
This certificate, which he had basically forgotten all about, seemed to immediately bring him back to reality. For the past few weeks, he felt like he was living in a dream. He closed himself up and built a shell around himself. It seemed that this was the only way he could protect himself from external damage.
If somebody asked him what he was doing recently, he would have trouble remembering anything. He could spend a whole day silently staring into a corner.
Shao Qun was like cancer, which was spreading in his brain. The only way to avoid that pain and protect himself was to keep his brain completely blank.
But this thin little booklet finally woke Li Chengxiu up. He was like a person who was gradually recovering from being frozen and numb – although the pain was unbearable, there was, after all, a hope for getting better.
He tremblingly took the red booklet into his hands, his nose twitching slightly.
Li Shuo patted his head: “Congratulations! Let’s celebrate it today.”
Li Chengxiu looked gratefully at Li Shuo.
After the past few weeks, Li Shuo was very happy to finally see an actual expression on Li Chengxiu’s face.
“Chengxiu, how about you take a few more days off and then go to work at my friend’s company?”
Li Chengxiu blinked: “Okay…Okay, thank you.”
Li Shuo smiled: “You don’t have to be polite with me, I think you can learn a lot there. You have to work hard so you can take the Certified Public Accountant exam later.”
Li Chengxiu nodded, full of gratitude to Li Shuo.
He remembered something and said: “This…this house… I will pay the rent…”
Li Shuo raised his eyebrows and glanced at him with a smile: “Okay. In fact, this house would just stand empty, if it wasn’t for you. So why don’t you just help me pay for the property fee? It’s about three hundred a month.”
Li Chengxiu shook his head with embarrassment: “It’s too little…” How could he pay only 300 RMB a month for such a good apartment?
A few days ago, he had already mentioned that he wanted to look for another place, but Li Shuo gently persuaded him to stay.
Li Shuo blinked: “Or you can kiss me to cover the rent?”
Li Chengxiu slightly lowered his head, his face a little red.
Li Shuo laughed and said softly: “Chengxiu, I only want to take care of you. You don’t need to feel embarrassed. You just stay here, and you can pay the rent, if it makes you more comfortable. I think you are not in a very good state right now, so it’s not suitable for you to live completely on your own. When your work and life are on the right track, we can look for another apartment together, okay?”
Li Chengxiu hesitantly stared at the porcelain bowl.
He didn’t want to owe anyone anything anymore – the price turned out too high for him to pay.
But Li Shuo was such a sincere and persistent person. And Li Chengxiu wasn’t good at rejecting others, especially people with good intentions.
“Chengxiu, if you weren’t living here, the apartment would just be empty. I’d rather you stay here and make use of it. And this way you can help me pay the property fee, okay?”
Li Chengxiu finally nodded.
Since he had partly paid Shao Qun back, money was really tight right now.
Li Chengxiu didn’t even receive his salary from the restaurant, since he had quit before the end of the month. Even his medical expenses were paid by Li Shuo.
With that little money he had now, it would be very difficult for him to find a rental.
He silently recorded all the debts he owed. Once he started making money again, he would return everything to Li Shuo, till the last penny.
Li Chengxiu didn’t want to stay and rest at home anymore. He couldn’t wait to finally go to work.
Li Shuo introduced him to a medium-sized foreign trade company, which mainly engaged in clothing and industrial crystals[9]. The daily accounts were numerous and cumbersome, but although it was tiring, it was still an exercise for the mind. And due to Li Shuo’s negotiations, the salary wasn’t low. Li Chengxiu was really satisfied with this kind of work. He felt as if he was gradually coming back to life.
Shao Qun’s situation, on the other hand, wasn’t good at all.
Although on the day of the fight Shao Qun only needed to make one phone call to get the few public security officers off his back, this matter naturally filled him up with pent up anger. He secretly vowed that if he didn’t kill this Li guy, his last name won’t be Shao anymore.
He immediately called Xiao Zhou and asked him to investigate Li Shuo thoroughly and find someone to follow him, in order to locate Li Chengxiu.
After everything was arranged, Shao Qun called Li Wenxun[10] and asked him to fly over to Shenzhen to have a drink with him that day.
They usually had their own busy schedules, and Shao Qun wouldn’t normally ask him to fly all across China for a drink. Li Wenxun knew that something was up as soon as he heard the request, so he also took Big Li[11] with him.
Shao Qun made a point of not calling Xiao Sheng.
He still remembered that last time Xiao Sheng sarcastically reminded him not to allow his little lover to take advantage of him. Right now, Shao Qun just wanted to drink and not think about why things were the way they were.
Shao Qun was already drinking in the private lounge all alone, when Li Wenxun and Big Li came in. As soon as they entered, they shouted at Shao Qun, “You’re really fucking mean! After getting us all the way here, you sent a driver to pick us up? We’re not asking you to throw a welcoming parade but you could have at least picked us up personally!”
Shao Qun glanced at him and said nothing.
Li Wenxun leaned over and sat beside him: “Shao Qun, what’s wrong with you?”
Big Li also sat down next to Shao Qun: “Fuck, what’s with the wimpy look?.”
Shao Qun was about to open his mouth when his phone suddenly rang.
Shao Qun looked at the caller ID, and it was no exaggeration to say that fire rushed to the top of his head.
He picked up the call but didn’t say anything.
A calm and cold female voice came from the other side: “Shao Qun, Qi Ming called me, saying that she can’t reach you. What’s going on?”
Shao Qun sneered: “Qi Ming? Who the hell is Qi Ming?”
There was a pause: “Shao Qun, what’s wrong with you? Don’t be an asshole. If you guys are quarreling, then you should properly…”
“Quarrel my ass!” Shao Qun enunciated, “Sis, listen up. I’m not tying the knot, yes, you heard it right, I’m not fucking tying the knot! Don’t you just love your little schemes? Don’t you always get what you want? This time, we’ll see about that. We’ll see if you can drag me to the Civil Affairs Bureau.” Shao Qun finished talking and pressed off the call with a snap.
Li Wenxun and Big Li looked at him in surprise.
“Hey, what’s the matter? Why are you talking to your sister like this? And what’s with not getting married? You’re really not going to…?”
The phone rang again.
Shao Qun took a sip of wine and accepted the call. Shao Wen’s voice came into the room again, but this time it was rather stern: “Shao Qun, are you drunk? What nonsense are you blabbering about? What is wrong with Qi Ming? You should be more considerate. She’s a woman, and she is younger than you.”
“I’ve said everything already. I don’t fucking know who Qi Ming is. I told you the other day to leave me and my private affairs alone. Why did you send the third sister to my house, huh? You think I will do what you want after you’ve pushed Li Chengxiu out? I’m telling you, I won’t! It’s over now. You can clean up the mess any way you like it. You’re such a smart ass after all, so you can handle it yourself.” This time after saying everything he wanted, Shao Qun turned off his phone, picked up the wine on the table and took a sip.
Big Li insisted on snatching the wine glass out of his hand, and said loudly, “Shao Qun, what the hell is wrong with you? Speak!.”
Shao Qun threw the glass to the ground and growled uncontrollably: “Damn! Li Chengxiu ran away with someone! Ran away with someone else!”
