Chapter 14

The kitchen was tiny, with barely enough room for one person to turn around.

Gu Sheng leaned there with his arms folded, watching Kong Sang bustle around inside. "I let you go once already, and you actually came back."

Do you really think I'm a saint?

Though right now, I really am a fucking saint. I haven't got a single drop left.

"I told you I'd come back," Kong Sang said first. Turning to find Gu Sheng still watching her, she added pitifully:

"I have nowhere to go."

Clearly, her stay with Third Aunt hadn't gone well.

Third Aunt had resented her coming to stay in the first place and spent those two days making snide remarks, while Third Aunt's Husband lusted after her looks.

Every time she saw the way Third Aunt's Husband looked at her, she got goose bumps.

After two days, Kong Sang left a letter, asking Third Aunt to mail it home for her when she had the chance, and ran away.

But everywhere she looked, all she saw were towering buildings. Other than Gu Sheng's place, she had nowhere to go.

Besides, she kept feeling that Gu Sheng wasn't as bad as he looked. At least during the two days she'd stayed with him, he hadn't tried anything.

Of course, in some respects, he was a villain too-far fiercer than Third Aunt's Husband or that human smuggler.

Gu Sheng watched her for a moment, then went back to the bedside, picked up the Liuwei Dihuang pills, and popped one.

Before long, the aroma of food drifted out. Kong Sang had made stir-fried pork with cucumber and steamed eggs with shrimp.

"The food's ready. Want some?" Kong Sang poked her head out to ask.

The dining table was a battered folding table, the kind that wobbled at the slightest touch.

Gu Sheng sat down and sampled a couple of bites. It tasted like ordinary home cooking, but having some once in a while wasn't bad.

After a few mouthfuls, Gu Sheng put his bowl down. He really couldn't eat any more; he'd eaten just before coming back.

Kong Sang no longer seemed quite so cautious now.

"Aren't you hungry? Or doesn't it taste good?" Kong Sang looked up and asked.

"I just ate."

After dinner, Gu Sheng discovered a serious problem.

He really wanted to take out his phone and ask online: East Wind Express is ready to launch, but what do I do if the ignition won't fire? Pretty urgent.

Gu Sheng felt utterly fucked.

When Gu Sheng hadn't made a move for ages, Kong Sang opened one eye to peek at him. He was sitting there, his expression shifting, looking rather angry.

Kong Sang quietly let out a breath and pulled the blanket over herself.

He really isn't as bad as he looks...

"Then... what am I to you?" Kong Sang poked her head out of the blanket and asked softly.

"A fuck buddy! What else?"

"What's a fuck buddy?"

"Someone you fuck without getting feelings involved!" Gu Sheng had entered post-nut clarity ahead of schedule and was feeling awfully bold.

It took Kong Sang a while to understand. Her eyes reddened with anger. "Bastard!"

You've looked at me and touched me, and now you want to pretend none of it counts?

Gu Sheng lay down on the bed, deciding he absolutely couldn't keep screwing around like this. Otherwise, his kidneys really wouldn't hold out.

I'd better cut back to once every two days...

Kong Sang rested a hand on Gu Sheng. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No," Gu Sheng answered casually.

"Oh!" Kong Sang's eyes glimmered, though there was no telling what she was thinking.

A moment later, she suddenly asked, "Are you... unable to get it up?"

That made Gu Sheng even angrier, and he snarled:

"Fuck, tomorrow I'll show you whether I can get it up!"

Kong Sang hid under the covers and giggled.

Gu Sheng was even more annoyed. He'd collect a little interest first.

"Right, I still don't know your name!"

After a long while, Kong Sang poked her head out from under the covers. Her face was shockingly red, the flush spreading all the way to her collarbones, as red as a rose.

"Gu Sheng."

"I'm Kong Sang. Our names are pretty similar-only one character different," Kong Sang said with a smile.

Gu Sheng chatted idly with Kong Sang for a bit, then dozed off again.

When he woke, he smelled food again and heard the clatter of a spatula against a wok in the kitchen. Outside, the sun was almost down.

Gu Sheng got out of bed and put on a shirt. Kong Sang poked her head out of the kitchen. "It's almost ready. Eat before you go out."

Gu Sheng suddenly felt as though he'd picked up a mother and brought her home.

He had only just sat down at the table when a series of knocks came at the door. "Brother Sheng! Brother Sheng!"

"What is it?" Gu Sheng opened the door to find Big-Eyed Hua, whose expression suggested something had happened.

"Brother Sheng, Mad Dog got slashed by Tung Sing's guys!" Big-Eyed Hua said urgently.

"He isn't dead, is he?" Gu Sheng swore. He'd been planning to squeeze some money out of Mad Dog. If Tung Sing's lackeys killed him, where would Gu Sheng get his money? He'd have to find another target.

"No, but he's in the hospital."

"Oh, then it's fine." The anger vanished from Gu Sheng's face, and his tone became perfectly calm.

Big-Eyed Hua: ...

Actually, it wasn't entirely fine. After this, Mad Dog would surely keep a bunch of lackeys around him, making it difficult for Gu Sheng to make his move.

Maybe... invite Mad Dog fishing?

While Gu Sheng was mulling it over, Big-Eyed Hua sniffed the air, then called out, "Sister-in-law!"

Gu Sheng thought Kong Sang had come out, but when he turned, she was still cooking. At the words "sister-in-law," though, a smile curled her lips.

He turned back to Big-Eyed Hua and suddenly felt that the kid looked positively full of mischief.

"All right, I know." Gu Sheng shut the door right in Big-Eyed Hua's face.

"Aren't you going to invite them in?" Kong Sang turned to ask.

"Invite them in, my ass!" Gu Sheng said irritably, wondering whether he should move somewhere else. This crappy place didn't even have room for a visitor to stand.

After finishing dinner, Gu Sheng went downstairs and found three of his underlings sitting by the road, drinking soda.

A song was playing from a little street-side shop:

"Though the road is rough, I won't fear its trials

May I experience both pain and joy throughout my life

Happiness and sorrow keep circling by my side

Admiring snow in the wind, flowers in the mist, joy keeps swirling"

"Who's singing this?" For some reason, Gu Sheng thought the song sounded familiar.

"The big star Ding Dang! Brother Sheng, you don't even know Ding Dang?"

Gu Sheng listened a little longer and finally remembered. Isn't this a song by Deng X-jun?

It exists in this world too?

But why is the singer called Ding Dang?

"Got a poster of her? Find me one," Gu Sheng said.

A little later, one of his underlings fetched a Ding Dang poster from a nearby shop. One look confirmed it for Gu Sheng: it really was Deng X-jun.

"Well, that's interesting." Gu Sheng had no other thoughts about it; he simply found it amusing.

He casually tossed the poster aside and headed to the bar district with his underlings.