Shoutout to Alinaza for the commission!
Room 616, Hongding Club.
Jiang Ye was being pressed onto the pool table, bruises at the corners of his eyes and mouth, and a bleeding gash on his chin.
Cao Liang, cigarette between his lips, leaned against the table edge, flicking ash onto the back of Jiang Ye’s hand.
“Hey, top student, how is the contemplating?” Cao Liang pressed his tongue against his cheek, tone like teasing a cat, “using one of your fingers to trade for your Little Stutter desk mate, such a good deal, how are you thinking for this long?”
Next to him, a girl in a white dress heard this and shook her head hard saying “no,” big teardrops rolling down from the corners of her eyes.
Jiang Ye clenched his teeth, eyes viciously glued on Cao Liang.
“Can’t bear to, huh?” Cao Liang snuffed out the cigarette on Jiang Ye’s fingertip while laughing, admiring the anger on his face, “I thought you liked her so much! Not even willing to give up one finger, tsk.”
A red-haired boy laughed along: “He needs his hand to play matches, how could he bear it?”
Cao Liang tossed the cigarette butt, walked to the girl, long fingers lifting her face.
“Really can’t bear to?” Cao Liang rubbed the girl’s cheek, “then this Little Stutter is mine.”
“You let go!” Jiang Ye hurriedly lifted his eyes, “Laozi—”
He didn’t finish speaking, the doorbell rang.
This club was his brother’s territory, and everyone knew he was teaching someone a lesson today, no one would be so blind as to come interrupt.
Cao Liang let go, glanced at the red head, “Go open the door, see who’s spoiling the fun.”
The redhead swaggered toward the door. With a “creak,” as it opened, a clean and beautiful face came into view.
The swollen-eyed boy’s eyes lit up, he whistled, teasing: “Beauty, who’re you looking for? Looking for Brother Liang or looking for me?”
Huang Xu behind Jiang Se couldn’t hold back anymore and rushed in like a gust of wind, shoving the redhead.
“Looking for your sister, Zhang Dong! Watch your d*mn mouth!”
Jiang Se followed Huang Xu into the room, looked at Jiang Ye first, her gaze pausing on the burn mark on his finger, then looked at Cao Liang.
A flash of amazement crossed Cao Liang’s eyes. He raised one brow, looking Jiang Se up and down, gaze extremely brazen.
“Who are you?” He lifted his chin a little, “We know each other?”
Jiang Se said: “I came to take my little brother back.”
“Your little brother?” Cao Liang sucked on his cheek, glanced at Jiang Ye, “Jiang Ye? Yo, the top student’s older sister is really top-notch too. Alright then, sis, you play a round of snooker with me in his place. If you win, you take him away.”
“And if I lose?” Jiang Se looked at him.
“If you lose…” Cao Liang stared straight at Jiang Se, eyes burning, smiling ambiguous, “I don’t want Jiang Ye’s finger anymore, I just want pretty sis you to accompany me for one night.”
“Cao Liang, I’ll f— you— mmm!” Jiang Ye’s eyes almost split, he shouted just a few words before someone covered his mouth. He struggled fiercely, like a trapped beast about to collapse.
“Okay. If you win, I’ll accompany you for one night.” As if she didn’t hear Jiang Ye’s roar at all, Jiang Se folded her arms, gentle and elegant, “If you lose, I’m taking my brother and that little girl over there. And—”
Jiang Se’s gaze swept over Cao Liang’s right hand, “what you left on my brother’s hand, please also leave one on yourself.”
Outside the door, Han Xiao, who was watching the scene, couldn’t help letting out a “f*ck.”
This Jiang Se really dared to play!
He hadn’t dealt much with the younger Cao kid, but his older brother Cao Xun was an old acquaintance. That guy was a snooker expert, so the younger brother shouldn’t be too weak either.
But Jiang Se? Han Xiao had known her so long, he’d never heard that this young lady could play snooker. Going up against someone like Cao Liang, a reckless rich brat, ten out of ten she’d lose!
—
When Lu Huaiyan picked up Han Xiao’s video call, half the snooker match was already over.
The score was 71:37. Only 27 points left on the table, and Cao Liang was already over the needed points.
Jiang Se held the cue, calm and composed, not panicked at all despite being 34 points behind.
Before the video connected, Han Xiao had sent a long WeChat message.
Lu Huaiyan thought he’d caused trouble again, didn’t read the paragraphs, and when the video connected, he coldly spat out a single “speak,” before lifting his eyelids to look at the screen.
The phone camera was pointed right at the table. The moment the sound came through, Jiang Se happened to turn around, her gaze through the screen crashing straight into Lu Huaiyan’s eyes.
She shifted her eyes away with no expression, unhurriedly circled half the table.
Probably after calculating the angle, she bent down, long cue rested on the back of her hand, apricot eyes narrowing slightly, clean and crisp as she pushed the cue out.
“Thud”—
The white ball hit the red, the red rolling into the pocket.
Lu Huaiyan had played snooker for more than ten years. From her grip, her posture, and her angle, he knew she was an expert.
The man’s long brows lifted, a flicker of surprise crossing his dark eyes.
Seeing he didn’t hang up, Han Xiao got even more hyped.
He eagerly put on a Bluetooth earpiece, covered his mouth, voice low: “Interesting, right, bro? Today’s match is crazy exciting! That kid playing with Jiang Se is from the Cao family, you saw the message I sent, right? Later if… remember to call Cao Xun, keep his brother in check.”
The environment in the video wasn’t quiet, seven or eight hooligans were noisily yelling around the table. Han Xiao’s deliberately lowered voice mixed in; Lu Huaiyan maybe didn’t hear clearly, he didn’t respond, just lowered his eyes watching the girl in the screen.
She tied her hair in a bun today, bangs fluffy and hanging down, a few strands sticking to her neck. As she bent forward, the strands fell to her collarbone, making her skin look like milk.
Jiang Se caught up 16 points in one go.
71:53.
Only 11 points left on the table. Even if she cleared the table in one go, she’d still be 7 points behind.
But snooker is all about obstacles.
Just then, Jiang Se caught the timing, pocketed the black ball, placed it back on its spot, then bent down again, this time the white ball lightly kissed the coloured ball, setting up an obstacle for Cao Liang.
Cao Liang whistled: “Beautiful!”
He looked careless, but when lowering his head to solve the snooker, his eyes were serious. The angle Jiang Se set was tricky. He took until the third attempt to get out, giving Jiang Se 11 penalty points.
Adding the points left on the table, it was enough to overtake, and Jiang Se cleared the remaining color balls in one go.
Every ball was very clean and crisp.
When it ended, Han Xiao’s eyes went straight: “so d*mn awesome!”
Cao Liang might be wild, but he kept his word.
He lifted his chin toward Jiang Se, lazily smiling: “Missy, I admit defeat, you take them away.”
“Alright.” Jiang Se also smiled, “you got cigarettes?”
The second half of the sentence was directed at Han Xiao.
Han Xiao was still excited watching the good show. Hearing that, he remembered the video call wasn’t hung up yet, and was about to press the red dot on the screen, but the person on the other end seemed to guess his intention, lazily said: “leave it on.”
Han Xiao froze a second, and right as his hand was about to touch the screen, he sharply changed direction, reaching for his pocket, pulling out cigarettes and a lighter and tossing them to Jiang Se.
“Take it all, use however much you want.”
Jiang Se said “thanks,” pulled out a cigarette, flipped open the lighter cap, slid the wheel.
With a “zzzla,” a faint blue flame reflected in her pupils.
Her eye color was darker than most people’s. The instant her eyes overlapped with the flame, they were like quiet and strange moonlight sinking in the deep sea.
Right when everyone thought she was about to light it, she suddenly let go.
The flame went out in her eyes.
Jiang Se shoved the cigarette back into the pack, smiling: “I never do illegal things. If you want to leave a burn mark on yourself like the one you left on my brother, you’ll have to do it yourself. Of course, I don’t recommend you doing that. Something that can be solved by saying an apology, no need to use such extreme means.”
But Cao Liang seemed to hear some joke, shoulders shaking with laughter.
“Apologize? Is Jiang Ye worthy?” He grabbed the pack, lit one himself, said, “this little bit of pain can’t scare me.”
Jiang Se’s smile didn’t fade: “that really is too bad.”
She spoke in the same tone as before, elegant, gentle, like a soft spring breeze. Looking harmless, but when watching Cao Liang press the cigarette tip into his finger, her eyes didn’t even blink.
A burn shot through Cao Liang’s middle finger, but he acted like he didn’t feel pain, eyes burning as he stared at Jiang Se, teasing: “Missy, I love doing extreme things the most. You watch your brother well, he still owes me a hand, I’ll come get it another day.”
Jiang Se didn’t even spare him a glance, lightly replied “as you wish,” then looked at the girl being pressed into the sofa.
She walked over slowly: “What’s your name?”
The little girl was good-looking, tender like a bamboo shoot after rain, her tear-wet eyes pitiful. Everyone called her Little Stutter, and even now Jiang Se still didn’t know her real name.
Little Stutter moved her lips, still with fear in her face, “Chen, Chen Liyin.”
Jiang Se lightly nodded, smiling at Chen Liyin: “Can you stand up yourself? We’re leaving here.”
—
When the group came out of the club, the sky was raining lightly again.
Han Xiao had watched a great show, happily tossed his car keys, and said to Jiang Se: “I’ll drive you back?”
Jiang Ye was injured, so Jiang Se didn’t refuse the kindness, nodded: “Thanks for the trouble, I’ll treat you to a meal next time.”
Han Xiao laughed: “What’s with the politeness, I had the best time watching tonight. But that Cao Liang kid is from the Cao family of Pingcheng, tell your little brother to be careful.”
Jiang Se glanced at Jiang Ye, answered “mm.”
The rain grew heavier.
When the car reached Liyuan Street, it couldn’t drive in. Han Xiao turned on the hazards and parked at the entrance.
Jiang Se turned from the passenger seat, handed the umbrella to Jiang Ye, saying: “You go back first and treat your wound.”
Jiang Ye subconsciously furrowed his brows.
He inexplicably didn’t like men from Beicheng. The man in front of him, and that man last time at the bar, both gave him the same feeling.
The boy hesitated, grinding back and forth, about to speak, but one look into Jiang Se’s pitch-black eyes made him fall silent again. He pushed open the door and got out.
Once Jiang Ye left, Jiang Se looked at Han Xiao: “I want to make a call to Chairman Lu.”
Han Xiao said in surprise: “You don’t have my bro’s number?”
“Didn’t save it.”
“…What about WeChat?”
“Deleted.”
“…”
Han Xiao let out a dry laugh: “Looks like you really aren’t close with my bro, no wonder you two were so awkward at the bar last time.”
Saying so, he unlocked his phone with his fingerprint. The screen was still on his chat with Lu Huaiyan. He simply sent a video request, and once it connected, he handed the phone to Jiang Se.
“Bro, Jiang Se’s got something to say to you.”
He finished and secretly perked up his ears, ready to hear what she’d say to his brother.
But only four cold, merciless words came through the speaker.
“Han Xiao, get out.”
Han Xiao: “?”
He looked out the window, “Wait, bro, it’s raining outside.”
Lu Huaiyan gave an “mm”: “Take an umbrella.”
Han Xiao: “…”
Once Han Xiao got out of the car, Lu Huaiyan slowly leaned back into the seat, asking Jiang Se: “You want to ask about Cao Liang?”
“If it’s convenient.” Jiang Se smiled politely, “Han Xiao said Cao Liang is from the Pingcheng Cao family. How come I’ve never seen him?”
The rain sound pattered, dim light seeping through the window.
On screen, the girl’s palm-sized little face was soaked in the faint glow, but the eyes looking at him through the phone were very dark.
Cold.
Lu Huaiyan watched her a moment, then asked: “If you had lost, you really would’ve played with Cao Liang for a night?”
Jiang Se hadn’t expected him to ask that.
Lu Huaiyan was never a curious person.
She said mildly: “A bet is a bet, of course I’d accompany. But I choose the place. He hit my little brother, and forcibly confined a minor girl, I wouldn’t mind going to the police station to play with him.”
Of course, that was the last resort.
That club was clearly the Cao family’s turf. A reckless kid like Cao Liang, relying on his family background, the police wouldn’t threaten him at all.
Lu Huaiyan wasn’t surprised at all by her answer, and asked again with a meaning-hard-to-read tone: “Weren’t you planning to personally give Cao Liang a cigarette burn? Why did you stop?”
Jiang Se said flatly, without waves: “Didn’t I say already? I don’t do illegal things.”
Lu Huaiyan laughed.
Others might believe that excuse of hers, but at that moment he had seen her eyes very clearly, this girl really had wanted to make a move.
Like he was meeting her for the first time.
Lu Huaiyan lowered his eyelids, staring fixedly at the girl in the screen, saying nothing.
Only when the smile at Jiang Se’s lips faded a bit did he slowly say: “Cao Ying of Pingcheng is Cao Liang’s grandfather, by blood. Because this grandson causes trouble every single day, the old man rarely mentions him outside, and never lets him attend the banquets in Beicheng, afraid he’ll embarrass him.”
Cao Ying.
Chairman of the Cao Group, now retired to the second line, with his grandson Cao Xun taking over all the group’s affairs.
Cao Ying was a tyrant in Pingcheng when young, and later, taking advantage of the spring breeze of the reform era, successfully cleaned up the business. Now, it’s the strongest conglomerate in Pingcheng.
Jiang Se slightly frowned: “Why is Cao Liang in Tongcheng?”
“Cao Liang only listens to his brother Cao Xun. Cao Ying couldn’t control him, so he threw him to Tongcheng for Cao Xun to manage. Cao Xun and Han Xiao are the same, they came because of Tongcheng’s film-city project.”
Jiang Se’s gaze slightly tightened: “Cao Xun?”
“Jiang Se.” As if seeing through her thoughts, Lu Huaiyan spoke unhurriedly, “Guess why uncle insisted I go to Tongcheng? Because this Cao Xun is even crazier than his younger brother. Han Xiao can’t play against him.”
The Han family can’t suppress the Cao family. Only if Lu Huaiyan goes on behalf of the Lu family can the Han family peacefully swallow that film-city piece of cake.
That “Jiang Se” transmitted through the receiver made Jiang Se pause subconsciously.
The last time the two met, it could be called an unpleasant parting.
Of course, Jiang Se didn’t think what she did that night would stir even a tiny bit of anger in Lu Huaiyan.
This man, toward people he looks down on, is even stingy with emotions.
People who can truly enter his eyes, aside from his mother, are only Old Master Lu far away in Beicheng, and Han Xiao, who is right now standing in the rain holding an umbrella and stomping his feet.
After thinking for a moment, she lifted her eyes to look at Lu Huaiyan and said: “Chairman Lu, let’s discuss a deal.”
