Li Tong stood outside the newly opened restaurant at West Street Crossing, his hands in his pockets and an utterly harmless smile on his face.
Two men stood behind him. One was bald, the other had a bushy beard. Both were broad-shouldered, thick-waisted men with fierce faces.
They wore gray cloth jackets with their sleeves rolled up to their elbows, revealing thick, muscular forearms. They looked like ruthless fighters who had trained for years.
"Li Tong, that kid you mentioned really has that much to squeeze out of him?"
The bald man lowered his voice, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the street.
"A hundred silver dollars or so, plus two bolts of silk. Could be more, but not less."
Li Tong's lips curled, and there was a hint of smugness in his voice.
"He's just a gatekeeper's son who came into a windfall. If he doesn't cough some of it up, how's that right?"
"Heh, true enough."
The bearded man licked his lips.
"But if this works out tonight, besides the fifty silver dollars, you'll have to let your new girlfriend spend a night with the two of us!"
Li Tong straightened his collar, his smile growing wider.
"No problem, but I get first dibs..."
"First dibs it is..."
The bald man and the bearded man exchanged a glance, then grinned in unison.
Just then,
Cuicui came around the street corner in her school uniform, her hair tied in a long, black braid.
"Cuicui, over here."
Li Tong waved to her with a smile, his voice as sweet as honey.
Cuicui hurried over. Her gaze flicked over the two fierce-looking men behind Li Tong, and her face tightened with nerves.
When they looked at her, it was as if they were sizing up a piece of merchandise. Their naked possessiveness made her deeply uncomfortable.
"Brother Tong, who are these two...?"
"Oh, they're friends of mine. They happened to be eating here, so we ran into each other."
Li Tong made up an excuse offhand and put an arm around Cuicui's shoulders.
"What about Fang Shuwen? When will he get here?"
"He said he'd come after school. He should be here soon."
Cuicui lowered her head, her voice unsteady. She wanted to go home.
Li Tong felt her shoulder trembling slightly and patted her back, his voice growing gentler.
"Don't be nervous. We're just having a meal and making friends. You've talked it over with your neighbor, right? Make sure nothing goes wrong."
"We talked. He agreed."
Cuicui looked up and managed a strained smile.
Li Tong nodded with satisfaction.
Then they went into the restaurant.
Before long, it was completely dark.
One by one, the shops along the street lit their lamps, and a dim yellow glow spilled from the windows.
One wave of customers left the restaurant, and another came in.
The waiter refilled their teapot three times. By the fourth, he could barely keep a smile on his face.
But the men looked like trouble, so he didn't dare ask them to leave.
The tea in front of Cuicui had gone cold long ago. She lifted her cup, took a sip, then set it down again.
"Brother Tong... should we stop waiting?"
"It's already nine. If I don't get home soon, my mom will start worrying!"
She spoke in a low voice, sounding almost as if she were pleading.
At that,
The smile had long since vanished from Li Tong's face, replaced by a dark, impatient scowl.
He set his teacup down hard on the table. It hit with a sharp crack.
"Wait a little longer."
The two words came out blunt and final, leaving no room for discussion.
Cuicui shrank back and didn't dare speak again.
Li Tong's dark expression made him seem like a stranger.
At the same time, she couldn't help remembering that two days ago, Fang Shuwen had told her something was wrong with Li Tong and warned her to stop seeing him.
Could Fang Shuwen have been right?
The bald man and the bearded man sat at the next table, with a small pile of melon-seed shells in front of them.
The bald man yawned. His gaze shifted twice between Li Tong and Cuicui, a strange, knowing smile on his lips.
Whether that guy showed up or not, they were bound to have a good time tonight.
After a moment, he went over to Li Tong and Cuicui.
"Li Tong, is your friend coming or not? My brother and I have been sitting here so long our legs have gone numb."
"Exactly."
The bearded man chimed in, tapping the table with his hand.
As they spoke, they glared coldly at Li Tong.
Li Tong's expression darkened further.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. The hands showed nine.
It had been three whole hours since school let out.
If Fang Shuwen had meant to come, he'd have been here already.
He definitely wasn't coming.
Fine. He'd just have to sacrifice Cuicui.
She wasn't a virgin anyway, so he'd get a little less for her. Still, there'd be money in it.
Li Tong stood up.
"Let's stop waiting. We're leaving."
Cuicui hurried to her feet, picked up her schoolbag, and started for the door.
"Cuicui."
Outside the restaurant, in the dim alley,
Li Tong called out to her. The darkness in his face softened, and he put on that gentle smile again.
Just then, the bald man and the bearded man blocked her way.
"Don't rush off, little miss."
The bald man grinned, showing two rows of yellow teeth, and patted Cuicui's shoulder.
"Your Brother Tong asked us to help him out. He can't leave us empty-handed, can he?"
His hand made Cuicui's shoulder jerk. She stepped back half a pace and bumped into the bearded man's chest.
"Exactly."
The bearded man lowered his head, let his gaze roam over Cuicui, and clicked his tongue.
"We've been waiting three hours and haven't even had a drink. How about we find somewhere else, have a couple of drinks with us, then you can go home?"
Cuicui's face turned deathly white.
She understood at once what they were after!
She whipped around and looked at Li Tong.
"Brother Tong!"
Her voice was already breaking into a sob.
Li Tong stood beside the table, his hands in his pockets, watching her.
He didn't move.
The tenderness in his face faded bit by bit, revealing the cold expression beneath.
There was not a trace of feeling in his eyes.
It was as if he weren't looking at a person at all.
Cuicui's heart sank, and a terrible feeling rose inside her.
"Brother Tong... y-you have to say something..."
Her voice trembled, and her eyes were already red.
At last, Li Tong spoke.
"Cuicui, my two brothers have been waiting all night. It really wouldn't be right if you didn't have a drink with them."
He sounded perfectly calm, as if he were stating the most obvious thing in the world.
Cuicui's tears spilled over at once.
She shoved the bald man and bolted for the mouth of the alley.
The bald man grabbed her arm and yanked her back.
"Where do you think you're going?"
He was astonishingly strong. His pull spun Cuicui halfway around.
"Let go of me!"
Cuicui struggled, her voice shrill and ragged.
But there was no one around in the alley.
And even if someone had been there, no one would dare interfere in a situation like this.
"Li Tong! Help me!"
Li Tong stood where he was, watching her without expression, as if he were witnessing some farce that had nothing to do with him.
The bald man held on to Cuicui's arm and reached with his other hand to cover her mouth.
"Stop shouting. It won't do any good."
"You didn't know, did you? You're not your boyfriend's only girlfriend. He's already sold his other girlfriends to Shenghai!"
Cuicui's eyes flew open in disbelief.
Fang Shuwen had been right. Li Tong really was a bad man!
At that moment, Cuicui regretted with all her heart not listening to Little Fang.
But in the next instant, that regret turned to resentment.
Little Fang knew Li Tong was a bad man. Why hadn't he come tonight?
If he'd come, maybe these men wouldn't have laid a hand on her!