An Interesting Person

Zhong Qing believed that if she told Zhu Juntang everything Liu Chang'an had done, Zhu Juntang would lose interest in him.

"Back then, I was passing through Wanhua Street. Years ago, it was Junsha's famous red-light district. Most of the prostitutes there were middle-aged or elderly women, and a few are still around. He was wandering there and even bought some mustard greens and water bamboo." Zhong Qing embellished her recollection. "Maybe he's living with an old prostitute... It's not uncommon. Migrant workers are often exhausted and lonely, and old prostitutes have emotional and psychological needs of their own..."

"Zhong Qing! I only want you to tell me what actually happened. I don't need your analysis!" Zhu Juntang snapped. She knew Zhong Qing had been halfhearted about finding the man. Compared with her mother, she simply didn't have as much influence over Zhong Qing.

Qin Yanan couldn't help laughing. What kind of person was Zhu Juntang looking for? Some illegitimate child of the Zhu Family who had wound up on the mainland, perhaps, so she could stage a rags-to-riches tale?

Hearing Qin Yanan laugh, Zhu Juntang's cheeks warmed. She felt embarrassed and glared at Zhong Qing. "Go on."

"I spoke with him for a few moments." Zhong Qing recounted her conversation with Liu Chang'an. "Then an electric scooter came rushing over..."

"Did it hit him and send him flying, only for him to get up unhurt?" Zhu Juntang asked, her eyes shining.

"Zhu Juntang, is something wrong with your head?" Qin Yanan couldn't help asking.

"Don't interrupt!" Zhu Juntang watched Zhong Qing expectantly.

"The scooter was heading for me. He pulled me out of its way, then, predictably, acted like a lecher and grabbed my waist and chest, taking the chance to grope me." Zhong Qing's expression didn't change. "I pushed him away, and he ran off guiltily."

Zhu Juntang nodded and fell silent.

"Who is she looking for?" Qin Yanan quietly asked Zhong Qing.

"Third Miss said it's a secret that concerns all humanity, so she can't reveal it."

Qin Yanan nearly choked with laughter. She turned and bent over, her smile blooming like a flower. Snow seemed to shake loose from her snow-covered Kunlun peaks, dazzling the eye.

Zhu Juntang turned and looked Zhong Qing over, taking in her chest, waist, hips, and legs, now bare of stockings.

Zhong Qing liked wearing stockings, but Zhu Juntang didn't like her assistant wearing dark ones around her. So Zhong Qing had already taken off the black stockings she'd worn that day, leaving her smooth, shapely calves bare.

Zhong Qing remembered the look Zhu Juntang had given her Rottweiler that day. Then Zhu Juntang had told her to buy a pig and throw it off the roof of Baolong Center.

"Since he treated you that way, he must be interested in you. Go seduce him." As Zhong Qing had expected, Zhu Juntang had decided to set her up with him. It was just as unacceptable as she'd imagined.

Zhong Qing stared at Zhu Juntang, stunned.

"A beauty like you would have no trouble winning him over. What young man isn't a bit lecherous? I'm not asking you to throw yourself at him. The point is to use your feminine charms. You're so beautiful, with such a great figure. Wouldn't it be a waste if you never got to show off your charms? This is a perfect opportunity. Just keep your distance, and you can complete the assignment without actually losing anything... What's not to like? Think of it as a learning experience. As a modern woman..."

"You're quite the smooth talker. Zhong Qing, don't listen to her. Whatever she's up to, it can't be anything good." Qin Yanan cut off Zhu Juntang's attempt to brainwash her.

"I'll grab your boobs in a minute!" Zhu Juntang warned Qin Yanan fiercely not to ruin her plans.

Qin Yanan hurriedly covered herself. She just couldn't deal with Zhu Juntang. Not only did she sneak attacks on her whenever she got the chance, sometimes she even tried to bite her. Luckily, Qin Yanan stayed on guard and had never let her succeed.

"Five million..." Zhu Juntang offered bluntly.

Zhong Qing came back to herself. She'd been lost in thought only because Zhu Juntang's decision had been so unexpected. It seemed things weren't as she'd imagined... Zhu Juntang was indeed very interested in Liu Chang'an, but it had nothing to do with romance. If Zhu Juntang had even the slightest romantic interest in him, she wouldn't have asked Zhong Qing to do something like this.

Had she got it wrong? But what exactly was Zhu Juntang up to?

"Ten million..." Zhu Juntang raised the stakes. "Come on, Zhong Qing. Don't push it. I could offer more, but then I'd get a little angry!"

"Enough. If I asked you to do it, would you?" Qin Yanan raised her hand and smacked Zhu Juntang's round bottom. It felt wonderful, like a bouncing ball, only softer.

"It's not about the money." Zhong Qing was long used to Zhu Juntang's way of doing things. She wasn't so sensitive as to feel that her dignity had been hurt. Grateful for Qin Yanan's understanding, she smiled calmly. "I can arrange it."

"You've already looked into his background, haven't you?" Zhu Juntang closed her eyes.

"I just can't figure out why you want to meet him, or why he won't meet you," Zhong Qing said, making no attempt to deny it.

"There aren't many interesting things in this world, and even fewer interesting souls. Interesting bodies are rarer still... When all three come together, you won't ask why anymore." Zhu Juntang's long eyelashes fluttered. As time passed, she became more and more certain that what she'd seen that night hadn't been a dream. Since Liu Chang'an was real, then what she'd seen must have really happened.

"An interesting body?" Qin Yanan laughed. "There's a wonderful body right in front of me."

"Two," Zhu Juntang said sweetly, holding up two fingers.

Zhong Qing left. She was responsible to Third Mistress Zhu, but she was also Zhu Juntang's assistant. Zhu Juntang didn't have to explain every little thing to her. Zhong Qing only needed to be sure that Zhu Juntang's interest in Liu Chang'an wasn't the result of a girl's first stirrings of romantic affection.

She'd probably just read too much into it. With Zhu Juntang's status, family background, and perspective, how could she really take an interest in a young man who moved in the backstreets?

Liu Chang'an's face rose in Zhong Qing's mind, still crystal clear. Though she'd formed a poor impression of him from the start, oddly, the moment she pictured him, she thought of wind blowing through a forest, leaves rustling and carrying the force of lush, vibrant life.

After Zhong Qing left, only Zhu Juntang and Qin Yanan remained. The two masseuses, Gelanfen and Susan, had stepped out for a while.

"You're being so mysterious. What are you up to?" Qin Yanan asked again. If Zhu Juntang still refused to tell her, she wasn't going to keep asking.

"I met someone interesting, but he won't meet me, even though I want to see him." Zhu Juntang knew that even if she told the truth, no one would believe her. Qin Yanan would only laugh at her.

"If Third Miss Zhu says someone's interesting, I'd like to meet him sometime too." Qin Yanan stretched and turned her head to look at Zhu Juntang.

"I'd like to meet the man who's about to claim that wonderful body of the Qin Family's sexy darling, too." Zhu Juntang made grabbing motions in the air with both hands, looking envious. "That must be heavenly. Listen, you're going to end up with someone eventually anyway, so why not let me have a go first?"

"Go play with yourself!" Qin Yanan suddenly sat up, furious and embarrassed.

Zhu Juntang just laughed without a care. Qin Yanan's reaction proved that she was already all but certain: her family had arranged for her to come to Junsha and meet a potential match!

Zhu Juntang had come to Junsha partly to avoid an arranged marriage. She was still young, but since childhood, her social circle had been filled with deliberately arranged, self-serving encounters. As the third young lady of the Zhu Family, she didn't resent such arrangements. She could even accept them... But if there was no immediate rush, why not struggle to enjoy a little more of the carefree life she could still live as she pleased?

Qin Yanan was different. Political dynasties were more eager to arrange marriages, and the stakes were higher. Even though Qin Peng had said Qin Yanan could find her own boyfriend, there was still a difference in what that meant. Was finding a boyfriend the same as finding a husband? Besides, Qin Yanan knew her place. She had no right to be capricious. Better to find someone from a family like hers, someone she knew and understood, than to end up with a scheming Phoenix man.

Qin Peng had said that in their generation, people had either risked their lives to make the revolution or remained honest, uneducated peasants. The old remnants of the bourgeoisie and landlord classes had long since been stripped of their wealth, so no one was more noble than anyone else... But that had been then. Could things really be the same now? The gap kept growing, after all. The fifth volume of The Art of Dragon Slaying had even been banned.