Chapter Six (Part 1)

Qin Song felt that the atmosphere at his third brother’s IT company was off. He took a closer look at his third brother through his third brother’s office window. His third brother was cold as usual but there was an odd anger that simmered in his third brother’s eyes. He guessed that the anger was aimed at An Xiao Li, but her happy and carefree att.i.tude didn’t seem like she was the one that made his third brother angry.

Qin Song smiled charmingly. He took out a wrapped bun from one of his pockets and a c.o.ke from his other pocket. ‘Hey, my treat for you.’

‘Do you know what happens after you eat a bun, drink c.o.ke and burp?’ An Xiao Li asked.

Qin Song shook his head.

‘Your breath will stink like you ate too many onions,’ An Xiao Li said.

Qin Song knocked An Xiao Li’s forehead. ‘You’re disgusting!’

An Xiao Li fixed her hair, glared at Mr Wild and bit into the delicious bun.

An Xiao Li nearly choked on her bun, because of the pitiful way Mr Wild slumped on the coffee table and stared helplessly up at her. ‘Hurry up and speak. If there’s revenge it’ll be avenged, if there’s resentment it’ll be vented, we can talk to each other about it and we’ll be able to overturn a tiger.’

‘You said you’ll help me…’ Qin Song sulked. He took back his c.o.ke, drank half of it in one gulp and burped. ‘I waited on level eight at Qin Sang’s work building for two days but she wasn’t there.’

An Xiao Li grabbed the c.o.ke off Mr Wild but he s.n.a.t.c.hed it back and drank the rest of it in one gulp. He gave her a you-scammed-me look.

An Xiao Li hit her chest, she bit a big piece of the bun and wanted to drink the c.o.ke to help her swallow but the hateful Mr Wild drank it all and as a result she was choking to death.

Qin Song laughed at An Xiao Li’s choking red look, served her right! But her red face was turning pale… s.h.i.t! If she choked to death then who’d have insider information about Qin Sang’s whereabouts?

Qin Song rubbed An Xiao Li’s back but she was still choking. He panicked and whacked her back with too much force and she slumped on the coffee table.

Finally Chen Yu Bai couldn’t stand the noisy commotion outside his office and went out to investigate. He found An Xiao Li slumped on the coffee table and her back was shaking. Qin Song was hunched over her, one hand braced the coffee table and the other hand was rubbing her back.

‘Ah!’ Qin Song cried out. He jumped away from An Xiao Li the moment he saw his third brother. ‘Third brother!’

Mr Wild’s one whack on An Xiao Li’s back helped her to swallow the big piece of bun down her throat, but her back was shaking in pain. She lifted her head and carelessly sulked. ‘You hit me too hard.’

Qin Song’s whole body turned to jelly at the sight of his third brother’s you’re-dead-meat look aimed at him. His eyes were teary and he mourned for his bad fate – he was going to be the one sent to the Middle East and he wouldn’t be able to see Qin Sang.

Qin Song usually loved to be sent on field work, because he’d get a generous allowance from Liang’s company to eat and play. But his third brother wanted him to stay in the Middle East for two months. In those two months someone else would kidnap Qin Sang and he’d want to die.

In the middle of a card session night Qin Song took big sister Gu Yan aside and begged her to ask his first brother to order his third brother to find someone else to go the Middle East for two months.

Qin Song sat back at the card table and Gu Yan convinced his first brother to change his third brother’s mind. His third brother considered the option of sending his fifth brother to the Middle East… after a deadly pause his third brother said that there was another field work location that was further away from their district than the Middle East and he would be the prime candidate if he was unavailable to go to the Middle East.

Qin Song cried a river of tears thinking about the endless possibilities of what remote places his third brother would send him to, it could be anything from a jungle of wild beasts or an icy mountain district that would fossilize his body.

‘Haha…’ Li Wei Ran laughed too much that he dropped cigarette ashes onto his pants. He brushed the ashes off his pants. ‘Here’s money, take it.’

Chen Yu Bai smirked at the sight of Qin Song’s paranoid state. He threw a card face down for Li Wei Ran.

Rong Yan was unlucky all night and vented on Qin Song. ‘Little Qin Song, where did you lose your senses?’

Ji Nan who stood behind Rong Yan laughed at his bad hand of cards. She moved over to torture Qin Song who usually was clean shaven but tonight there was an obvious stubble on his chin. ‘Little Qin Song, do you think it’s your stubble that’s affecting your luck tonight?’

Qin Song glared at the traitor Ji Nan and put his cards face down on the table. ‘Do you want to withdraw a card?’

‘Oh?’ Ji Nan asked. She withdrew a card from Qin Song. ‘Hey, I’ll show you what I learnt from my brilliant famous teacher.’

Qin Song’s stomach was full from anger. He looked over at Gu Yan who was glued to first brother and decided to be amicable and let her play in his stead. ‘If you win you can keep the winnings but if you lose than first brother will pay for you.’

Qin Song stood and backed away from the card table like a proud martial arts champion.

Liang Fei Fang was dragged by Gu Yan to the card table to help her play. He sat behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He helped her sort out her cards. He saw that she was happy playing and tried to help Qin Song again by seeing if he can get Li Wei Ran who sat opposite to him to volunteer to go instead of Qin Song. ‘Didn’t little Qin Song say something about he found someone he can’t leave behind? Why don’t you help him out and go to the Middle East for him?’

‘He whined to me on the phone earlier today and before I could ask him what he did to offend third brother, he hung up on me. I want to go to the Middle East trip myself, but if I go against third brother’s order it’ll be like going against the heavens’ will,’ Li Wei Ran explained.

Rong Yan shuffled the deck of cards. ‘First brother, have you thought that third brother’s plan of attack is a male’s version of h.e.l.l hath no fury like a woman scorned? I think this year you’ll need to compensate sixth brother with a giant red packet. Sixth brother will be knocking on desert doors one at a time. It’ll be a miracle if he finished knocking in less than a month. The sixth brother we know is about to grow a beard and his alluring dark eyes will turn sorrowful. His masculine body will wither, especially his waist will become the envy of women.’

Chen Yu Bai laughed at Rong Yan’s mockery of their little Qin Song. ‘Second brother, you’re too flattering.’

Rong Yan clasped his hands and shook his hands in front of his chest. ‘You’re too modest.’

‘I don’t dare to accept such high praise,’ Chen Yu Bai teased at the expense of Qin Song.

‘The right to boast belongs to you,’ Rong Yan teased and added a stab to Qin Song’s flailing pride.

Nearly everyone at the card table fell back onto the chairs laughing hysterically. Qin Song was upset with Ji Nan for causing his losing streak before so he decided to vent on Rong Yan’s legs. Rong Yan easily dodged Qin Song’s feeble kick and counterattacked Qin Song. Qin Song fell back onto the floor and was helpless to do anything else but look up at the ceiling.

Even though Rong Yan lost again he was happy to retire. Li Wei Ran and Chen Yu Bai were bored of Gu Yan’s lack of strategic card playing skills and excused themselves from the card table. Liang Fei Fang and Gu Yan were too busy playing with each other that they didn’t notice anything around them, including Qin Song who laid flat on the floor.

‘I don’t want to go anywhere… you heartless b.a.s.t.a.r.ds,’ Qin Song mumbled to the ceiling.

An Xiao Li wasn’t happy with Mr Wild’s miserable mood in front of a plate of fragrant grilled chicken, she thought it was disrespectful toward the grilled chicken’s soul.

‘If you dare order another chicken, I’ll roast you like pig!’ Qin Song threatened.

An Xiao Li dismissed Mr Wild’s idle threat. She licked her greasy fingers and patted his head. ‘Let big sister take a look at you. Oh, if someone heard you they’ll be heartbroken for you and if someone sees you they’ll shed tears for you.’

‘Big sister, help me!’ Qin Song begged.

Qin Song let An Xiao Li pull his growing beard on his chin. He didn’t have the will to shave since his third brother exiled him.

‘You don’t owe Chen Yu Bai money. Why do you have to go if he tells you to go?’ An Xiao Li asked.

‘Because third brother is scary!’ Qin Song explained. ‘It’s your fault third brother wants me to suffer. If it wasn’t for you crying out in pain the day you choked on a bun then it wouldn’t be so bad for me. I was meant to go to the Middle East next year for two months. But your big mouth got me into more trouble and third brother is sending me off this year and I’ll be gone for more than six months.’

‘Ok, I’ll help you eat dinner with Sang Sang tonight and we’ll escort you to the airport too,’ An Xiao Li placated.

‘That’s all?’ Qin Song asked.

‘It’s not that big sister doesn’t pity you,’ An Xiao Li said. She patted Mr Wild’s cheek. ‘But my Sang Sang doesn’t like you. Even if big sister helps you more, it’ll be pointless.’

‘You’re not going to help me? Are you scamming me?’ Qin Song asked.

An Xiao Li punched Mr Wild’s shoulder. ‘Children shouldn’t sprout nonsense.’

‘I’m a matured man… if you don’t believe me, sleep on my bed and I promise within a week you’ll be pregnant,’ Qin Song teased.

Qin Song drank his gla.s.s of water and felt better.

An Xiao Li pulled Mr Wild’s hair. ‘You dare?’

Qin Song defended his beautiful set of hair. ‘Of course I wouldn’t dare. If I dared, third brother will take out a sword and turn me into an eunuch. Speaking of the two of you… what stage are you and third brother at?’

When Li Wei Ran asked An Xiao Li the same question she was incensed. But she considered Mr Wild as a kindred friend and felt she could speak truthfully with him. ‘Mmm… at the second and a half base.’

Qin Song smiled slyly. ‘Oh? Half a base left? Is it because the bat isn’t hard enough? Or is it because the barrier to get to third base is too tight to hit a homerun?’

An Xiao Li almost splattered out the water in her mouth. She swallowed the water and gritted her teeth. ‘Do you still want to have dinner with Sang Sang?’

Qin Song suppressed his laughter and put both of his hands up in the air to wave a white flag. ‘Ok.’

End of Chapter Six (Part 1)