Chapter 42
Chapter 42
The cigarette smoke made Zhao Xiuming cough a little. He nudged Dahu with his elbow, amusement in his voice. “Isn’t this a gambling parlor?”
“Why would there be food here? Do we eat after everyone finishes playing?”
As Zhao Xiuming glanced around, the System’s clear voice rang with anticipation. [Scared?]
[No.]
A smile slowly spread across his face, a genuine smile. [I didn’t expect to run into old acquaintances.]
Three people sat around the card table in the middle of the room. Directly opposite Zhao Xiuming was a pale, clean-shaven middle-aged man, his face full of surprise.
He wore a white shirt and had slicked-back hair. A beautiful woman in a tank top, her lips painted red, sat on his lap.
At the sight of Zhao Xiuming, he stood and rubbed his hands together, about to speak.
The other two men at the table were younger, their backs to Zhao Xiuming. They had begun trembling the moment they heard his voice.
They turned in disbelief, their necks painfully stiff.
At the sight of his face, one sucked in a sharp breath.
The other shoved the woman off his lap, shot to his feet, and bolted.
Before Liu Wenhe could speak, Ah Hao cried, “Y-you… What are you doing here?”
Shuai Zai let out a string of “Holy fuck!” and started looking for a window. If Zhao Xiuming hadn’t been blocking the doorway, he would have burst straight through it.
Ah Hao and Shuai Zai had brought two men each. Four of Liu Wenhe’s own men stood behind him.
With Dahu’s boys added to the mix, the small bedroom was suddenly packed.
Ah Hao was still blurting out incoherent questions. “You just… Weren’t you… That thing… You!”
“You can speak like a human!”
“What do you mean, eat after the game? Who are you going to eat?”
His and Shuai Zai’s reactions were too obvious, too bizarre.
Everyone else stared, dumbfounded, with no idea what had got into them.
Ah Hao and Shuai Zai wanted to explain. But one look at Zhao Xiuming’s smiling face made them swallow their words.
Perhaps having so many people around gave them courage. At last, they calmed down.
Ah Hao tried to point at Zhao Xiuming, then lost his nerve. He only lifted his arm a little and gave a small wave. “Liu Wenhe, this is the student you kidnapped?”
The man named Liu Wenhe came toward Zhao Xiuming with a warm welcome. “What nonsense are you talking? Kidnapped? We invited him.”
He reached out for a handshake. Zhao Xiuming offered his gloved right hand and shook once or twice.
But when he tried to pull away, Liu Wenhe held on tightly. “I like the look of you. You’re a good boy.”
“Do you know why Dahu brought you here?”
Zhao Xiuming turned to look at Dahu, who had his head down and didn’t dare raise it.
Remembering to stay in character as a student, Zhao Xiuming said, “Dahu brought me here to eat.”
“Ha ha!” Something about that tickled Liu Wenhe. “Yes, yes, that’s right. Something to eat. You’ll love it, I promise. Plenty to fill you up.” His tone was suggestive.
His four followers joined in with leering, filthy laughter.
Still smiling, Zhao Xiuming asked inwardly, [Does that mean what I think it means?]
The System said, […]
[They’re so annoying.]
[Gege, shall we kill them all?]
Zhao Xiuming caught a dangerous edge in his voice. It was still the same pleasant, youthful voice, full of high spirits, but this time he seemed to be speaking through gritted teeth.
“Ah…” Zhao Xiuming sighed in understanding, then answered Liu Wenhe with a smile full of sincerity. “It’s that good? And there’s that much? You must eat a lot of it yourself, then.”
Liu Wenhe choked. He couldn’t believe such a well-behaved-looking student had said something so jarring. But seeing neither embarrassment nor humiliation in those eyes, he suppressed his suspicion. The boy must not have understood.
His expression cooled all the same. He waved a hand. “Take him away. Find out his background and watch him closely.”
His men called several others in from the outer gambling room, ready to take Zhao Xiuming away.
“Dahu.” Zhao Xiuming grabbed his arm, feigning unease. Thoroughly enjoying himself, he put on the same helpless, innocent act he had used to tease Li Zhehan.
“Were you lying to me, Dahu?”
Dahu flinched and bowed his head even lower. His voice came out low and hoarse. “Zhao Xiuming, get in touch with your family. Quickly.”
Zhao Xiuming dodged the hands reaching for him. He was actually quite tall, but Dahu was more heavily built.
That made it easy to circle around him. In the end, Zhao Xiuming wrapped both hands around Dahu’s arm and said quietly, “You take me yourself.”
“They might hit me. I’m scared.”
Ah Hao and Shuai Zai were speechless. Both looked as though they were desperately holding in a shit. Shuai Zai tried to speak, but Ah Hao clapped a hand over his mouth.
Sure enough, Dahu blocked the others. “Where do you want him taken, Uncle Wenhe? I’ll take him. Don’t worry. I won’t go soft.”
Liu Wenhe waved indifferently. The men hustled Zhao Xiuming out, pushing him from front and back until he stumbled.
“Don’t shove him!” Dahu snapped.
The man who had pushed him knew who he was. This kid was ready to take a suicide hit. All he had left was his life.
Even hard men feared someone with nothing to lose. Nobody wanted to make trouble for Dahu just then.
So Zhao Xiuming kept teasing. “Dahu, are you kidnapping me to get money from my family?”
Dahu said nothing. Head down, he shielded Zhao Xiuming as they walked.
Zhao Xiuming wanted to laugh, so he coughed instead. “Actually…”
“Actually, my family doesn’t have any money. I mean, my dad was rich, but he married my stepmother.”
“She brought two older brothers with her. Then my father died too, and my stepmother and brothers started abusing me.”
“They… uh, they don’t give me enough to eat, and they won’t talk to me. Usually, I can only talk to the mice.”
The System drawled, [Sounds a little familiar.]
They stopped outside a small room, where one of Liu Wenhe’s men worked a key in the lock.
Zhao Xiuming rested his head against Dahu’s back, burying his whole face there. His shoulders shook.
Dahu thought he was crying. Enduring the pain of Zhao Xiuming pressing against his injuries, he tried to reassure him, guilt thick in his voice. “J-just do as they say. They won’t dare hit you. They’ll give you good food and drink.”
“Tell them exactly who your family is. Liu Wenhe promised me he’d treat you well and let you send word home.”
“Do you have any relatives besides your stepmother? It’d be best to contact someone on your birth mother’s side, or your father’s.”
Zhao Xiuming was a little surprised. His shoulders shook even harder. [Ha ha! System, he actually believed me.]
The System soothed him. [Those monsters. I knew you were a poor little thing.]
[Poor Gege.]
[I’m a little *.]
[Let me * you, Gege.]
The System actually had a censor bleep. Zhao Xiuming genuinely couldn’t hear what he was saying.
In front of him, Dahu turned and caught him by the shoulders.
Naturally, there were no tears in Zhao Xiuming’s eyes. Only confusion over the words he hadn’t understood.
Dahu told him what had happened to his brother. At the end, he said, “I’m sorry.”
Zhao Xiuming reached out and gave his cheek a light pat through his black glove.
Then, with a smile Dahu couldn’t decipher, he walked around the others and into the dark little room on his own.
As the door closed again, Dahu heard a faint chuckle from inside, so soft he could almost have imagined it.