"Miss Qi is a good person. If you don't plan to give her a formal title, it's not good for people to always misunderstand that she has a relationship with you, which would ruin her reputation." Song Chengqi said to Song Tianyao, who was facing away from him and about to go downstairs, while sitting under the oil lamp.
After hearing this, Song Tianyao sighed heavily again.
The 1950s were hardly a good time for philandering and seducing respectable women. In fact, Qi Weiwen shouldn't even be considered a respectable woman.
Lost in a jumble of thoughts, Song Tianyao walked down the stairs step by step.
Huang Liu stood with his arms crossed on the stone steps of the Kuixing Pavilion, looking up and counting the stars. Song Tianyao did not see Qi Weiwen.
"Miss Qi has returned to the Kowloon Restaurant." As if he could read Song Tianyao's mind, Huang Liu spoke up before Song could even ask.
Song Tianyao patted Huang Liu on the shoulder. "Let's go to the restaurant. You only ate half of your dinner with that Foreign Girl. You can eat some more with me."
The two walked to the outskirts of Kowloon Walled City, where a two-story wooden building displayed a sign in cursive script for the Kowloon Restaurant. Song Tianyao recognized the handwriting as his grandfather's. Although dinner time had passed, the restaurant was still quite busy. Upon entering the lobby on the first floor, several boys and girls around twelve or thirteen years old, dressed in matching blue jackets and trousers, were serving food to the tables. These were war orphans who barely survived thanks to Elderly Homes, or children from poor families taught by Song Chengqi at the Longjin Charity School. They were helping out without pay, only guaranteed three meals a day to keep them from going hungry.
As for the guests at the various tables in the hall, they clearly appeared to be mostly people from the martial arts world.
As Song Tianyao and his companion entered, Qi Weiwen, her face slightly flushed, was walking down the stairs from the second floor.
"Who has such influence that even Hall Master Qi had a drink with them?" Song Tianyao walked up the stairs, blocking Qi Weiwen's path as he came down. "A-Liu and I want to get something to eat. Are there any rooms upstairs? You took care of my grandfather at the hospital, so you must be hungry too. Why don't we eat something together?"
Seeing Song Tianyao's deep eyes looking at him, Qi Weiwen actually felt a little nervous. Avoiding the other's gaze, he lightly wiped his hands on the hem of his shirt and gave a slight smile, "Yan Hung, Golden-Tooth Lei is negotiating upstairs with a few martial arts figures. Yan Hung and Golden-Tooth Lei have been recommending customers to this place, so I went to say hello. There's also a private room; come with me."
After the three entered a private room, a waiter brought over a menu personally written by Song Chengqi and a pot of tea. Song Tianyao casually ordered a few light dishes, then took out some loose bills totaling about thirty or forty yuan and handed them to the boy, putting on a serious expression. "Take this and distribute it to all the children. If you keep it all for yourself, I won't give you any next time."
"Thank you, boss, but I won't. A person should be loyal to their friends." The boy bowed deeply to Song Tianyao to express his gratitude, then happily waved his change and walked out.
After Huang Liu poured tea for Qi Weiwen and Song Tianyao, he said that the private room was too stuffy and that he would eat outside, so he went out first.
Once only the man and woman remained in the room, Song Tianyao looked at Qi Weiwen, who seemed to sense something and wasn't looking directly at him, but instead turned to look at the teacup. "If you want to become a gang leader, I'll help you get rid of Ge Zhaohuang, and we'll look out for each other from now on. However, I can't really take care of you too much in the ways of the underworld."
Qi Weiwen's gaze sharpened slightly.
"Or, you can come with me, and I'll show you life outside the martial world." Song Tianyao lit a cigarette, then added with a conflicted expression, "I currently have three women. If you agree, you'll likely be the last one."
That conflicted expression made Qi Weiwen's lips curl into a slight smile even in this somewhat serious atmosphere. He asked curiously, "Why is it the last one? Did your three women set a limit for you?"
"I made this decision myself. It's easy to take advantage of a woman, but difficult to make a promise to her. Besides, having too many women is not only mentally taxing, but also physically harmful. I'm so young, of course I can't let lust ruin my health. I want to live to be a hundred years old," Song Tianyao said with a smile to the woman in front of him.
Qi Weiwen's smile vanished as Song Tianyao spoke.
It's easy to take advantage of a woman, but difficult to make a promise to her.
No young person could possibly express such a profound sentiment as "once you've seen the ocean, other waters seem insignificant."
"Can I refuse and still stay in this Walled City?" Qi Weiwen sighed softly, saying to Song Tianyao with some regret, "After Scribe Tan and Heizai Jie died, no one dared to cause me any trouble. Ge Zhaohuang personally brought Ge Zhixiong to see me, and in front of me, he slapped Ge Zhixiong several times, begging me to forgive his mistake. He only had one son and didn't want to bury his son. Actually, after that, I started living a life outside the underworld."
Song Tianyao scratched his head awkwardly. "This is the first time I've been rejected, but I don't think I've lost anything. I'll write down what I just said in my notebook; I might be able to use it to win over the next woman."
"You're a smart man, Song Tianyao," Qi Weiwen Song Tianyao with a smile. "I can't help you with your brains, and as for looks, I'm not as good as other young women, so I won't have any improper thoughts. Living an upright life on my own is better than being the least outstanding one beside you."
What she admired about Song Tianyao was that Song Tianyao seemed to be able to defuse any slightly awkward situation with a single sentence.
For example, if he had said no, the atmosphere would have been somewhat awkward, but Song Tianyao could have turned that heartfelt remark into a joke with a nonchalant tone. Although he might not have felt relieved inside, at least he wouldn't feel awkward on the surface.
"You're quite clever too, Hall Master Qi, but of course, you're a bit less so than me. Actually, it was my grandfather who forced me to confess to you." Song Tianyao lowered his hand and looked at Qi Weiwen: "Actually, I wasn't too willing to tell you what I just said, do you believe me?"
Qi Weiwen smiled and nodded, "Does saying I believe you make you feel better?"
"I'm feeling a bit better. Otherwise, it would have been so embarrassing if I had just told you I wanted to make advances and been rejected." Song Tianyao picked up his teacup and took a sip, adding as if unwilling to give up, "I shouldn't have tried to get my hands on an older woman like you; it's not easy to succeed."