Interesting People

Zhong Qing believed that as long as she laid out everything Liu Chang'an had done, Zhu Juntang would surely lose interest in him.

"I was passing through Wanhua Street at the time—it used to be a famous red-light district in Junsha, and while many of the sex workers there were middle-aged or elderly, some still remain. He was just wandering around there, and he even bought some mustard greens and celtuce." Zhong Qing embellished her recollection, "Perhaps he's living with an old prostitute... that sort of thing isn't uncommon. Migrant workers in the city are often physically and mentally exhausted and lonely, and the older women have their own emotional and psychological needs..."

"Zhong Qing! I only want you to tell me exactly what happened, I don't need your analysis!" Zhu Juntang said irritably. She knew Zhong Qing was being perfunctory about the search, and compared to her mother, her own influence over Zhong Qing was still lacking.

Qin Yanan couldn't help but laugh from the side. What kind of person was Zhu Juntang looking for? Could it be some illegitimate child of the Zhu family lost in the interior, preparing to stage a grand drama from the streets to the high society?

Hearing Qin Yanan's laughter, Zhu Juntang's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Feeling she had lost face, she glared at Zhong Qing: "Go on."

"I chatted with him for a bit." Zhong Qing recounted her conversation with Liu Chang'an, "That was when an electric scooter crashed over..."

"Did the scooter hit him, send him flying, and then he just climbed up completely unscathed?" Zhu Juntang's eyes lit up.

"Zhu Juntang, is there something wrong with your brain?" Qin Yanan couldn't help but ask.

"Don't interrupt!" Zhu Juntang looked at Zhong Qing with anticipation.

"The scooter was heading toward me. He pulled me out of the way, and then, unsurprisingly, he acted like a pervert, grabbing my waist and pressing against my chest to take advantage of the situation." Zhong Qing said expressionlessly, "I pushed him away, and he ran off with a guilty conscience."

Zhu Juntang nodded, remaining silent.

"Who is she looking for?" Qin Yanan whispered to Zhong Qing.

"The Third Mistress Zhu said it's a secret concerning all of humanity and cannot be disclosed."

Qin Yanan felt like she was choking on her own laughter. As she turned and leaned over, her smile bloomed like a delicate flower, and the Snow-Covered Kunlun heaved with a motion that was dizzying to behold.

Zhu Juntang turned her head and sized Zhong Qing up, looking at her chest, waist, hip line, and legs, now bare of stockings.

Zhong Qing liked wearing stockings, but Zhu Juntang disliked her assistant wearing dark-colored ones while by her side, so Zhong Qing had already removed the black pair she wore earlier, leaving her smooth calves round and alluring.

Zhong Qing recalled the look in Zhu Juntang's eyes when she had examined her Rottweiler that day, right before she told Zhong Qing to go buy a pig and throw it off the roof of the Baolong Center.

"Since he treated you like that, it means he's interested in you. Go seduce him." Just as Zhong Qing expected, Zhu Juntang had indeed set her sights on her, a request just as unacceptable as the last.

Zhong Qing simply stared at Zhu Juntang with a blank expression.

"With a great beauty like you making a move, you're sure to succeed. Young men, how many of them aren't lecherous? I'm not asking you to throw yourself at him, but to utilize your feminine charm. Look at how beautiful you are, how good your figure is—if you don't have a chance to display your charm, wouldn't it be a waste? This is a perfect opportunity. As long as you keep your distance, you can complete the mission without actually losing anything... why not do it? It's also a form of training, as a modern woman..."

"You really are a smooth talker. Zhong Qing, don't listen to her; it's obvious that whatever she's planning isn't anything good." Qin Yanan interrupted Zhu Juntang's attempt at brainwashing.

"I'll grab your breasts later!" Zhu Juntang issued a stern warning to Qin Yanan not to ruin her plans.

Qin Yanan quickly covered herself. She really couldn't stand Zhu Juntang; not only did she look for opportunities to ambush her, but sometimes she even tried to bite her. Fortunately, Qin Yanan was well-prepared and never let her succeed.

"Five million..." Zhu Juntang offered a naked temptation.

Zhong Qing snapped back to reality. Her distraction had only been because Zhu Juntang's decision was so unexpected; it seemed things weren't as she had imagined... Zhu Juntang was indeed very concerned about Liu Chang'an, but it had nothing to do with romantic feelings. Even if Zhu Juntang had a shred of affection for Liu Chang'an, she wouldn't have asked Zhong Qing to do something like this.

Had she misunderstood? But what exactly was Zhu Juntang trying to do?

"Ten million..." Zhu Juntang increased the stakes, "Little Zhong Qing, know when to stop. I can go higher, but then I'll start to get a little angry!"

"Alright, if you're asked to do it, are you willing?" Qin Yanan raised her hand and patted Zhu Juntang's round buttocks. The texture was so good it reminded Qin Yanan of a bouncing ball, only softer.

"It's not about the money." Zhong Qing was long accustomed to Zhu Juntang's style of doing things and didn't feel her dignity or self-respect had been hurt in any fragile or sensitive way. Still, she appreciated Qin Yanan's understanding and smiled calmly: "I can arrange this."

"Actually, you've already looked up his information, haven't you?" Zhu Juntang closed her eyes.

"I just can't understand why you want to see him, and I can't understand why he won't see you." Zhong Qing did not deny it.

"There aren't many interesting things in this world, even fewer interesting souls, and interesting bodies are rarer still... When these three come together, you won't ask why anymore." Zhu Juntang's long eyelashes fluttered. As days passed, she felt more and more that she definitely hadn't been dreaming that night. Since Liu Chang'an truly existed, what she had seen must have been real.

"An interesting body?" Qin Yanan laughed, "I have a wonderful body right in front of me."

"Two." Zhu Juntang held up two fingers and said coquettishly.

Zhong Qing withdrew. She was responsible to Third Mistress Zhu, but she was ultimately Zhu Juntang's assistant. There was no need for Zhu Juntang to explain every detail of her actions to her, as long as Zhong Qing was certain that Zhu Juntang didn't harbor the budding romantic feelings of a young girl toward Liu Chang'an.

It was just her overthinking, after all. With Zhu Juntang's status, background, and perspective, how could she truly be taken with a young man mingling in the alleys of the city?

Liu Chang'an's voice and appearance surfaced in Zhong Qing's mind, still so clear. Despite her preconceived negative impression of him, strangely, when his image appeared, it inexplicably reminded her of wind blowing through a forest, rustling with green leaves and vigorous life force.

After Zhong Qing left, only Zhu Juntang and Qin Yanan remained, as the two technicians, Gelanfen and Susan, had stepped out for the time being.

"So mysterious, what exactly are you up to?" Qin Yanan asked again. If Zhu Juntang still refused to say, she wouldn't ask again.

"I met someone, very interesting, but I want to meet him, and he refuses." Zhu Juntang knew that even if she told the truth, no one would believe her, and it would only invite more mockery from Qin Yanan.

"If Third Mistress Zhu says he's interesting, I'd like to meet him if I get the chance." Qin Yanan stretched and turned her head to look at Zhu Juntang.

"I also want to meet the man who is about to possess the wonderful body of the Qin family's sexy treasure." Zhu Juntang grabbed at the air with both hands, saying with great envy: "It must be an experience like a celestial being. Let me tell you, since you're going to be someone else's sooner or later, why not let me play with it first?"

"Go play with yourself!" Qin Yanan suddenly sat up in a fit of shame and anger.

Zhu Juntang laughed heartlessly, because Qin Yanan's reaction showed that she herself was becoming increasingly certain that her coming to Junsha to meet someone was indeed a blind date arranged by her family!

Zhu Juntang hiding in Junsha was not without the motive of avoiding an arranged marriage. Although she was still young, her social circle had been filled with various deliberate, utilitarian arrangements since childhood. As the Third Mistress of the Zhu family, Zhu Juntang did not resent such arrangements; she could even accept them... but when there was no immediate urgency, why not struggle to enjoy a life of ease and freedom for a little longer?

Qin Yanan was different. The expectations and transactions of political families regarding marriage were more pressing. Although Qin Peng had spoken up to agree that Qin Yanan could find her own boyfriend, the implications were still somewhat different. Was finding a boyfriend the same as finding a husband? Moreover, Qin Yanan was self-aware; she didn't have the luxury of being willful. Rather than encountering some scheming social climber, it was better to have a partner who was a social equal and whose background was well-known.

Qin Peng said that back in the day, everyone was either risking their lives for the revolution or were honest laborers; the remnants of the bourgeoisie and the landlord class had long been stripped away, and no one was more noble than anyone else... but that was the past, could reality be the same? The gap was only widening; after all, even the fifth volume of the Dragon-Slaying Technique had been banned.