Translator: Larbre Studio
Editor: Larbre Studio
June 28th, Year of the Dragon: Good day for trading and marriage. No forbidden activities.
Li Yan was wearing a pair of floral shorts and lying beneath the shade of an umbrella. He was gripping onto the transaction record for the match against Xu Tianci, which was scheduled for a few days later.
“Afraid you’ll lose?”
Li Yan smiled as he threw the piece of paper aside, and his eyes caught Judy walking over to him.
The sapphire blue swimsuit brought out her curves; her round cheeks and her slightly pointed chin added beauty to her smile.
These days, Li Yan was living pretty well. Since no one was willing to go up against the “King of Hell” in the seventh round, he just needed this match to check the “Fight in the seventh round of Kowloon Rings” requirement for the Yanfu Case. But he wasn’t rushing it either. He never went to the rings on his own will, just practiced at Fu Yi Tower to maintain his condition and otherwise stuck close to Judy.
Stick close to Judy, my ass, Li Yan thought to himself. After watching Judy for a while he suddenly asked, “Judy, are you hungry?”
“Eh?”
Judy sat down beside him, her knees bent as she supported her head in her palms.
“Can I treat you to Wonton noodles?”
“Huh?”
…
As the heat dissipated, the shop was as noisy as could be.
Judy took a deep breath, unable to control her anger as she pressed her palm onto the table. “Take back your words, and I can act like all of this never happened.”
Li Yan held onto his bowl of noodles and gobbled down his food. Burying his face in his bowl, he completely ignored what Judy had just said.
She flashed a dangerous smile, “I spend millions supporting you at your matches. The Calvin Klein underwear that I bought cost a few thousand dollars. And now you tell me you want a break up over eighty dollar wanton noodles?”
Judy’s voice wasn’t too loud, but she still managed to catch the attention of the other patrons in the shop. Even Li Yan almost choked on his soup.
Li Yan placed his utensils on the table and wiped his mouth with a napkin, then raised his hand as Judy chewed on her bottom lip waiting for an explanation. Instead, Li Yan called for the waiter, “Another bowl, please”
Judy proceeded to slam the table and stand up, her eyes almost on fire.
Li Yan sputtered a laugh. “Judy, it’s not like you to get so agitated.”
“Listen up…” said Judy darkly. “If i wanted to, you better believe that I could have you thrown into the sea tonight. And I can guarantee you would lose your ‘King of Hell’ title the next day.”
Li Yan contemplated for a moment and then replied, “Judy, you saying things like this makes me a little nervous, no doubt. But we all know very well that you won so much money from my performance in the rings. And all the clothes and watches you bought for me, I’ve already packed them and mailed them to the villa. I even paid the postage. We’ve been together for more than twenty days. If we’re not compatible, we should just break it off. Since we never had sex, no one loses. Am I right or am I right?”
Judy clenched her teeth tightly and nodded, “Good. Excellent.”
She grabbed her handbag and gave Li Yan one last look before turning to leave, not wanting to drag out the conversation further.
“Wait.”
Judy hummed coldy and begrudgingly asked, “What else?”
Li Yan thought for a while and then replied blandly, “I picked up some medical skills while I was learning martial arts. I made a sleep inducing medication for you a couple days ago. You should take care of your body, too.”
She turned and gritted her teeth, “I’ll be sure to flush it down the toilet once I get back!”
As she left, Li Yan then looked down at his soup and munched on the greens. Judy had only had a few mouthfuls of her Wontons. She could barely eat at Lan Kwai Fong, and so naturally, she didn’t even want to try the food at Causeway Bay and Temple street.
Li Yan reached over for Judy’s bowl of Wontons and wolfed it down without a word.
…
Temple Street, Apt. 22. This was a decent apartment, but the fishy smell of the fishball factory nearby was almost unbearable. Li Yan could have chosen to stay at Fu Yi Tower. There was air conditioning, alcohol, and even women.
Nonetheless, he decided to keep his place.
The lighting in Kowloon was pretty bad during the day. Even when it was noon, Li Yan could feel a slight chill.
“Meow.”
Li Yan smiled as he picked up the kitten. It didn’t even struggle out of his hands but just looked around.
He tilted his head up to look at the door number. He didn’t rush back home to door number 413 but instead walked to 411 where Xiu lived with her mother. As expected, the door was open.
“Xiu, your cat has run out of the house. Xiu?”
Li Yan pushed open the door slightly.
“Ew.”
Even with Li Yan’s mental strength, the stench in the room caused him to furrow his brow. He couldn’t imagine how Xiu could live in an environment like this.
“The factory smells so bad and yet the windows aren’t even closed well.”
Li Yan put the cat down and walked over to shut the windows.
“Who are you looking for?”
A raspy voice sent chills down his spine. He subconsciously raised his knee but when he remembered that this was Xiu’s place, he relaxed his leg and backed up slightly.
He saw a wrinkled face with tightly shut purplish lips and eyes like a dead fish. It reminded Li Yan of the old lady in the movie, “July 13th.”
Li Yan slowly opened his mouth in shock, “You…”
…
“Snow white and the seven dwarfs…”
“Snow white and the seven dwarfs with different traits…”
“Seven dwarfs with different tricks…”
“When the witch sees them she gets mad…”
Xiu wiped her face, her hand gripping crumpled cash. She climbed up the stairs step by step, humming a rhyme to which she never knew the title.
When she reached her door, she realized that it was unlocked. She was shocked to hear a man’s voice coming from her apartment and quickly pushed open the door and walked in.
Li Yan was standing on the stool screwing in a lightbulb as an older lady in an apron cooked something.
“Xiu, you’re back.”
Li Yan nodded at the girl.
“Yan… Yan?”
“Your cat ran out of your place. I brought him back and changed the light bulbs while I was here.”
“Yan, stay for dinner today,” said the elder lady in the kitchen.
“Sure. Sorry to bother you Auntie.”
Li Yan looked at Xiu whose face was turned down, quiet. He said with a smile, “Here, Xiu. I’ll give you $100. Go get some pork, alright?”
“No need, we have it at home,” replied Xiu with a smile on her face.
Li Yan stared at her deeply and said, “Alright then.”
…
The light bulb flickered a little before it finally turned on.
The three of them sat around a table.
“I haven’t thanked Yan for taking care of my daughter.”
“It’s all good. Auntie’s roast pork tastes amazing. Ah, isn’t it strange that the apartment still smells when the windows have been shut for so long. I should bring some incense next time.”
“It’s fine when you get used to it.”
“I’m so sorry for intruding today.”
“We’re all neighbors. There’s nothing to be sorry for,” the older lady said as a smile flashed across her face.
“Xiu is still young. The streets are a mess. I’m always worried about her. She’s the only child I have. If anything happened to her, coming back as a ghost wouldn’t be enough.”
Li Yan smiled but didn’t speak. This meal was pretty harmonious.
“See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Xiu shut the door and turned to her mother sitting still in her chair, her face dull and gray.
Looking at the door number 411, Li Yan straightened up and pulled out his phone to make a call.
“Hello?”
“Red Ghost, are there any available spaces in the tower? I want to move…”
Li Yan paused for a moment before he continued, “I’ll call you back later.”
He hung up as he finished.
“Hello? Hello?” Red Ghost called out quite a few times but only heard beeping. “So mysterious,” he mumbled to himself.
A blonde man wearing a dark red vest walked over to him. Li Yan recognized him as one of Huashan Jiu’s men.
“Le wants to meet you. He said he found the thing you’ve been looking for.”