“Don’t be discouraged, Brother Zhi. Have no fear, for I, the Second Master, shall present you with the trump card.”
Ah Wan had wanted to warn Jiang Zhi, but it was all too late.
‘Boss, Miss Zhou’s here! Hurry up and tell the Second Master to bring his gals elsewhere!’
Despite Ah Wan’s unwavering loyalty toward the young master, he failed to produce these words, almost as if they had died within him like a stillborn child. Ah Wan, running out of options, could only smile apologetically at Zhou Xufang.
“What a coincidence to see you here, Miss Zhou.”
In the next second, the sound of coughing stopped abruptly.
Ah Wan was startled by the sudden appearance of the young master standing beside him.
“Y-you, why are you here?”
He didn’t know where his eyes should be looking at nor where he should place his arms. He was even starting to stutter like a fool—like a guilt-ridden cheating husband who had been caught red-handed in the act and was now seconds away from confessing his sins.
Jiang Zhi’s mind was in a state of panic. Standing at the doorway through which the chilling winter wind was blowing, sweat started gushing out from his pores.
This was the second time they had met face-to-face that night. The bright pink clothes she had been wearing a mere 2 hours ago had now been changed into a set of all-black clothes. As usual, only her stone-cold face peeked out from underneath the hood of her jacket with the rest of her body covered.
“I’m going back to work. Goodbye.”
After bidding farewell, she lowered her head and left the place along with the two bags of pork liver and vegetable porridge she was supposed to deliver. From time to time, she would secretly look back through the corner of her eyes at that woman who was dressed in a skimpy outfit.
Jiang Zhi stared at her retreating back dumbfoundedly before his senses returned, upon which he chased after Zhou Xufang.
“Zhou Xufang.”
“What’s up?” she asked as she turned around.
Jiang Zhi loosened up the neckline of his sweater, revealing bits of his pale-white skin which was contrasted by his glowing red neck. “This really isn’t what you think it is.”
“Oh,” replied Zhou Xufang.
‘That’s all? Is that her only reaction?’
Jiang Zhi’s heart felt as though it had been stuffed by a large ball of cotton, clogging his arteries and making his chest itch like never before.
“I’ll be off to work now.”
She turned and left. Jiang Zhi was about to call out to stop her from leaving but she turned back before he could open his mouth. She seemed to be feeling conflicted about something as her brows were tightly knit and her face twisted.
Looking at him, she advised him whilst wearing a deadpan expression. “Jiang Zhi. You have to be more concerned about your health.”
“…”
‘For f*ck’s sake, I am not hooking up with prostitutes!’
Zhou Xufang exited the Floating Hall after completing her delivery. At the main gate, two flirtatious girls surrounding a single man entered her vision. Despite the freezing weather, these girls were barely covered. They wrapped their arms around the man like vines around a tree, hellbent on making him stay.
Then, she heard the naughty man say to the girls, “If y’all feel bad about me leaving, then why not come back with me?”
The man, with a girl clutching onto each of his arms, entered his sports car. Before he was able to start up the engine though, his phone started ringing, and he picked up the call.
“What’s the matter?”
“Where are you? Why aren’t you back yet?”
“I’m working overtime tonight.”
“When are you coming back? Our baby’s got a slight fever.”
“We’ll talk after I’m done with work.”
The man then hung up the phone before speeding off into the distance.
‘B*stard! Scum of the earth!’
Zhou Xufang stopped her scooter by the road and picked a hefty rock from the ground. Turning around, she aimed at the car’s tires. After all her calibrations were complete, she sent the makeshift projectile flying with a kick.
Pop!
The car tire burst open.
She could hear the man cussing loudly.
Zhou Xufang grunted triumphantly to herself before plopping her yellow delivery rider’s helmet over her head. As she pushed her scooter forward, her footsteps stopped abruptly upon discovering a trash can obstructing her way. She stared at it for quite a while before setting her scooter down. Then, she walked over to it and lightly, very lightly, kicked it playfully.
Thunk!
The impact of her foot with the side of the trash can created a deafening noise.
The trash can proceeded to roll over multiple times.
‘Why am I doing this? Urgh, why am I feeling so frustrated?’
Zhou Xufang tugged her hair out of irritation for a moment before she crouched down to set the trash can upright. After that, she had to humiliatingly pick up every individual piece of litter that had fallen out of the can when she kicked it over.
Suddenly, a pair of leather shoes appeared before the trash can, followed by a great shadow that was cast over her face.
“What are you doing?”
Zhou Xufang looked up to find Jiang Zhi standing over her with neon lights shining over his back. His eyes, reflecting said lights, resembled a dark sky that was filled with shining star clusters, or the glowing dots of a nighttime cityscape.
“I’m picking up litter.” To be honest, she too, had no idea what she was doing, nor did she have any inkling on what she was supposed to say. Under pressure, she buckled and blurted out whatever she could think of. “These bottles could be sold for ten cents each.”
She was currently holding a plastic drinking bottle, so she went along with that story.
“…”
Crouched down, the yellow helmet over her head made her appear like a mushroom that had sprouted after the rain.
Jiang Zhi walked 2 steps forward under the neon lights.
“Don’t. It’s filthy.” He bent down and grabbed onto the hood of her sweater before pulling her aside. He then called out to someone from behind.
“Ah Wan, go pick it up.”
“…”
Being a grown-ass man, this was the first time Ah Wan had been ordered to pick up trash, so the unexpected order certainly surprised him.
“Do you not have anything else to say to me?” Jiang Zhi was only wearing a single sweatshirt, and so, standing out there in the breezy winter night had to be taking its toll on his body.
Zhou Xufang went silent for a moment.
“Jiang Zhi, I don’t think you should be playing around with those women.”
She knew how inappropriate this would turn out to be but she had no choice but to make herself clear.
“Why is that?”
With a straight face, she replied, “Because if you hire these prostitutes, you would no longer be a good citizen…”
“…”
The “good citizen” Jiang Zhi who had initially suspected that Zhou Xufang was interested in him sexually but turned out to be wrong was at a loss for words.
‘Good citizen my ass! How naive could this girl be about sexual relationships!?’
Jiang Zhi couldn’t pinpoint whether she was more annoying or it was his own thoughts were more annoying. Forcing a serious expression on his face, he cleared his throat and swore to God.
“I was not hiring prostitutes!”