Short and Feeble, But I Did My Best

After playing cards all afternoon, Zhu Juntang was finally bound like a mummy. Her mouth was only taped shut during the second-to-last hand, and when the last hand ended, her hands were tied together by Liu Chang'an, officially ending the game.

By this time, her arms were wrapped in tape, and she had changed her skirt into Qin Yanan's close-fitting cotton shirt... Otherwise, with the skirt being so fluffy, the tape wouldn't feel tightly bound, and the winner wouldn't feel any sense of accomplishment in applying the tape.

Qin Yanan's close-fitting cotton shirt looked a bit like a skirt on Zhu Juntang, which gave Zhu Juntang, who was wearing stockings, a normal, soft and cute girl feel. Her whole body was covered with transparent or colorful tape, and only her wet eyes were visible on her small face, making her look pitiful.

Liu Chang'an and Qin Yanan both took several photos as souvenirs.

A friend is someone who takes photos and videos of you when you're drunk and making a fool of yourself, when you fall flat on your face, when you're crying and screaming on a glass bridge, when you're acting stupidly, and then immediately posts them on social media and shows them to you from time to time.

"I won't send it out. If she causes me trouble later, I'll send it to her mother. Her mother will definitely be furious when she sees it and then take it out on her." With his true intentions revealed, Liu Chang'an had achieved his goal.

Zhu Juntang stared wide-eyed, unable to utter a word. This vicious, cunning, fierce, cruel, and inhumane villain was capable of harming even the beautiful and adorable Immortal Sheep!

Has she lost all compassion?! She's so cute, she should be a nationally protected animal like the giant panda!

"You're so mean." Qin Yanan playfully hit Liu Chang'an, then smiled as she watched Zhu Juntang's increasingly exasperated expression. She added a theme from the movie "The Mummy" to the photo she took, a film that was released in June of this year.

Qin Yanan showed the photos to Zhu Juntang.

Zhu Juntang writhed on the sofa like seaweed again; clearly, this style didn't suit her at all! She looked completely unconstrained by the artistic style she pursued, instead resembling an ugly, silly zombie from Plants vs. Zombies.

"Help her untie it," Liu Chang'an said mercifully, waving his hand.

Qin Yanan then took a small pair of scissors and started cutting, with Sister Lan also coming to help, because there was just too much stuffing.

"I... I... I'll never play with you guys again!" Zhu Juntang burst into tears as soon as the tape over her mouth was ripped off.

"You're like a little kid. You're the one who wants to play, and you're the one who doesn't want to play. You either throw a tantrum or cry. What kind of fairy are you?" Qin Yanan rolled her eyes at her.

"It's not like you were the one tied up like this, and you're just making sarcastic remarks." Zhu Juntang said, sniffling.

"Alright, if we encounter any interesting unusual creatures in the future, I'll take you to play. Don't cry anymore," Liu Chang'an said.

"Okay." Zhu Juntang stopped crying.

Liu Chang'an had other things to do, so he didn't stay for dinner and went down the mountain.

"I don't know what to say to you. You always end up crying after being beaten up by Liu Chang'an, and you never learn your lesson. You always go and provoke him again. Is that fun?" Qin Yanan said irritably as she helped Zhu Juntang remove the tape.

"I've been wanting to teach him a lesson someday," Zhu Juntang said, wiping her eyes, which were as red as a little rabbit's.

"You're just like a gambler who's lost everything. They're always thinking about winning back their losses, but they just keep losing more and more, and they'll never recover in their lives." Qin Yanan put all the tape together, a huge pile. Sister Lan took the tape to the trash can and then went down the mountain to buy groceries.

"How can I be the same as ordinary gamblers? Of course, they lose more and more. If I'm unhappy with my losses, I can buy the entire casino and gamble all by myself." Zhu Juntang said dismissively, then revealed a thoughtful expression, her eyes darting around.

"Stop thinking nonsense!" Seeing Zhu Juntang's expression, Qin Yanan knew that she was plotting something again, trying to get revenge on Liu Chang'an.

"Do you think if I invite those people on the Las Vegas blacklist to play cards with Liu Chang'an, I can take care of Liu Chang'an?" Zhu Juntang already had some ideas.

"No, those people are strongest in terms of mental fortitude, adaptability, and game theory. If their skill levels are similar, luck will be the most important factor. Haven't you seen in serious card games that they win with mixed hands? Do you think they can just randomly shuffle a flush like in the movies?" Qin Yanan pointed to her skirt. "Are you staying here tonight, or going back?"

"I live here, I want to sleep with you." After saying that, Zhu Juntang climbed onto the sofa and hugged a pillow. She had been humiliated today, and she felt uncomfortable if she didn't do something to get revenge on Liu Chang'an.

As for what will happen after I take revenge on Liu Chang'an, I'll definitely be scared and nervous, but that's not something I need to think about right now.

"I'm really impressed by you." Qin Yanan didn't say much more. Anyway, she couldn't do anything to Liu Chang'an, and Liu Chang'an wouldn't really just turn her into a human dumpling.

"I can sleep with his woman if I want, what can he do to me?" Zhu Juntang couldn't think of any other way, so she resorted to the mental victory method.

"Are you asking for it?" Qin Yanan said shyly, a hint of secret joy creeping into her voice. This girlish infatuation, however, also slightly annoyed Qin Yanan. What was the difference between this and unrequited love? It was utterly humiliating...

"By the way, do you still have any king crabs in your kitchen?" Qin Yanan changed the subject.

How would I know?

"Ask Zhang Jiawei or Zhong Qing if they have any, and send one over. I want to try my hand at it first." Although there are small king crabs, the larger ones can easily weigh dozens of kilograms. Even professional seafood chefs don't handle them often.

Emperor crab and king crab are not the same thing. Emperor crab is a purebred crab, while king crab is not a crab in the biological sense; it is just a crustacean.

"Hesitate." Zhu Juntang sat there without moving, holding the phone between her two feet and raising it above her head. She was about to reach for it, but she lost her grip and the phone fell, hitting her in the face.

Zhu Juntang sniffled, trying hard not to cry. Why was today so unlucky!

Liu Chang'an slowly walked down the mountain. When he reached the mountainside, he saw Sister Lan driving a red SUV, which slowly stopped in front of him. She asked him if he wanted a ride, but Liu Chang'an declined.

In the depths of winter, the fiery red maple leaves of Mount Lu have faded, but the abundance of evergreen plants still keeps the entire mountain shrouded in a deep green hue.

Trees with lush canopies and gnarled branches often grow together, as if one is nourishing and the other is absorbing.

Like a loyal backup plan or a goddess.

Upon closer observation, one finds that all things in the world reflect common human scenarios. Indeed, humans are born and raised here, and ultimately cannot escape the laws of nature.

Lost in thought, Liu Chang'an arrived at the hotel where he had met Li Hongfang that day. He sat down in the hotel lobby bar, ordered a pot of tea and a plate of snacks, and began to eat.

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Because some book friends have asked similar questions before, I would like to explain that the three words "lobby bar" are a noun, not "lobby-bar".