If he hadn't been careless, if he hadn't drunk too much, if vomiting hadn't left his limbs weak, Jiang Deqian believed he would never have been subdued so easily by a woman.
But that was exactly what had happened.
His forehead was bleeding, and his neck could clearly feel the coldness and slight sting of the sharp glass point. He saw fierce killing intent in Bi Shenghua's eyes. He knew this flat-chested woman wasn't joking.
"Quick, stop! Stop!" he shouted to save his own life.
What frustrated Jiang Deqian most wasn't even being threatened by a woman, but that Hou Biao still hadn't moved a muscle, like an old monk deep in meditation, as though what was happening here had nothing to do with him.
Someone in the crowd had already called the police. The wail of sirens sounded nearby, drawing closer.
The fighters all stopped and returned to their respective groups, standing on opposite sides, still seething and cursing.
Only Qingmu looked as though he wouldn't mind the spectacle getting even bigger. "Huh? Is the fight over already?" he asked.
He looked just like an old lady complaining in a cinema after failing to understand the plot at all-spending all that money just to watch a noisy brawl, only to end with some inexplicable post-credits scene. It wasn't even as good as watching television at home!
The question was so abrupt, so utterly heartless, that everyone turned their eyes and anger on him.
Yet he looked like an utterly shameless rogue impervious to anything. He shrugged and said, "So it's over. Why are you looking at me?" Then he smiled at the bald Hou Biao, slowly relaxed his fingers, spread his arms, and gave a huge stretch.
Hou Biao immediately felt a great weight lift from him. Only then did he realize that the amber bead clutched between the fingers of his right hand had been crushed outright into a pile of gritty fragments mixed with sweat in his palm.
Only when the police came through the door did Bi Shenghua move the broken bottle away from Jiang Deqian's neck.
At the sight of the police, both groups of brawlers instantly went from rabid dogs to mice, and their heads suddenly became rational again. Although several had blood on their heads and faces, they all insisted these were only minor injuries. A wipe with a tissue and an adhesive bandage would take care of them.
Although Jiang Deqian's people had gotten the worse of it, they were the ones who had started things, after all, so naturally they didn't want to go to the station. Jiang Deqian knew the police would have to release them with a single word from his older brother, but dealing with the aftermath was always a hassle.
Xiao Qi's people were frightened too. After all, they had beaten people bloody, and getting those wounds classified as minor injuries would be no problem at all. Then they would have to pay compensation on top of doing time.
The police briefly asked what had happened, then gave the fighters a stern and thorough dressing-down, explaining the spirit of the Eight Honors and Eight Shames in accessible terms. Finally, they came over with a law-enforcement recorder and asked Bi Shenghua whether she wanted the troublemakers to compensate her for the damage to the bar. Of course, they were only mediating. If the other party refused to pay, she could only go to court.
Looking at the wreckage all over the floor, Bi Shenghua said bitterly, "Pay! Of course they have to pay! Do you think opening this place was easy for me? They smashed so much in one go. How many days of putting on smiles and how many cocktails will it take me to earn it back?"
The local beat officers knew Bi Shenghua. They could do nothing about this handsome, blunt, and fierce proprietress either. Having originally intended to make a big problem small and a small problem disappear, the police had no choice but to go back and ask Jiang Deqian, "You've left her place like this. You ought to pay something, shouldn't you? If you won't, we'll have to take all of you back to the station, detain you for picking quarrels and provoking trouble, then have the injuries and property damage assessed. After that, it'll be up to the court. That would save us some trouble, actually."
The police dropped hints, simply hoping Jiang Deqian would pay some money and settle the matter.
Naturally, Jiang Deqian couldn't stomach this humiliation, but being pinned to the table by Bi Shenghua had given him a fright, and he had vomited again as soon as he got up. Though his mind was still clear when the police questioned him, he could only lie slumped over the table, spitting froth, unable to get a single coherent sentence out.
At this point, the bald Hou Biao suddenly stepped forward and asked Bi Shenghua, "Give us an estimate. We'll pay."
Bi Shenghua hadn't expected them to actually be willing to pay. She looked around and said, "A hundred thousand." In truth, she couldn't estimate the damage on the spot. Besides, after so much alcohol, her brain was like paste, so she casually named a high figure.
This was already bordering on extortion. Most of the onlookers were neighbors and bar regulars, and they all chimed in that it wasn't too much at all. The police merely watched the amusement without speaking.
Unexpectedly, the bald man readily agreed. "Fine. A hundred thousand yuan. I'll send someone over with it tomorrow."
"Fuck, tomorrow? Who knows where you'll be tomorrow!" Xiao Qi said.
The police also pointed out that this was the age of electronic payments. Why not just transfer it by phone and be done with it? As for how much compensation, that was still negotiable. A hundred thousand was a little steep.
The bald man grew annoyed, his face as grim as a coffin lid, but he seemed to have some reservations and took out his phone with extreme reluctance.
At this point, Qingmu stepped forward and shamelessly said, "Tomorrow's fine. What's the big deal?"
Everyone booed him, saying it was easy for him to talk when he wasn't the one affected.
Bi Shenghua frowned, glanced at Qingmu, and said, "Fine! Tomorrow it is. What's the big deal!" Then she told Qingmu, "If he doesn't come tomorrow, I'm putting the bill on your tab!"
For the moment, the disturbance had been settled. The police told everyone to disperse. The show was over; they should get back to whatever they had been doing.
The crowd scattered, and the troublemaking thugs helped Jiang Deqian, who was foaming at the mouth, out of the bar.
Before leaving, the bald Hou Biao glanced back, his face as cold as basalt standing on the Siberian plateau. Not even the cold wind from the northernmost north could disperse his towering rage and steely killing intent. Only when he looked at Qingmu did his eyes clearly show one part gratitude, two parts wariness, and seven parts anticipation of a great battle against a worthy opponent.
Bi Shenghua had Xiao Qi take two cartons of Chunghwa cigarettes from behind the counter, open them, and distribute them among those who had come to help. She also took some cash from a drawer for the injured as medical expenses, then cupped her hands in salute and said, "Thank you, all my neighborhood brothers!"
After everyone had left, Xiao Qi shut the bar's doors.
His head had been cut too, and he had lost quite a bit of blood. Bi Shenghua told him to go to the hospital, but Xiao Qi was worried about things at the bar and said he would go later. Fortunately, his injury wasn't serious and the cut wasn't deep. Once he washed up in the restroom and stopped the bleeding, it wasn't much of a problem.
At this point, Bi Shenghua couldn't hold on any longer. She bent over and retched.
Qingmu and Xiao Qi both came up and asked with concern, "Are you all right?"
Bi Shenghua's face was deathly pale. With one hand braced against the table, she pointed toward the restroom with the other and said, "Fuck, I can't hold it much longer. Have Mo Yu give me a hand..."
But Mo Yu seemed not to hear her. She crouched motionless in a corner, dazed, her face as pale as though she had been seriously ill. Seeing this, Xiao Qi hurried over to ask how she was, but Mo Yu seemed to have gone mute. No matter what Xiao Qi said, she wouldn't speak.
Qingmu shook his head and sighed. "I'll do it." With that, he took the proprietress's arm and started toward the toilet.
Bi Shenghua shoved him. "Who asked you!"
Perhaps because she had drunk too much, had just vomited, and was holding in her urine, she really couldn't move her feet. Her face was flushed, and her body was limp and utterly without strength. Her shove failed to push Qingmu away, so she could only let him support her as they walked.
Only when they reached the restroom entrance did Qingmu release her arm. "We're here, we're here. Hurry inside."
"Oh," Bi Shenghua said. She stood unsteadily, swayed twice, then suddenly gave a soft cry and collapsed into Qingmu's arms.
"Hey..." Qingmu caught the proprietress as she was about to fall. "Look at you. You're a girl. Why go challenging people to drinking contests for no reason? Look, your face is as red as a monkey's bottom!"
At Qingmu's words, Bi Shenghua felt her face burn. Her body grew even weaker, and her gaze became hazy.
Qingmu hesitated, then decided to pick Bi Shenghua up. "All right, all right. I'll take you in to go pee-pee!"
His tone was always lazy and exaggerated, and he drew those last few syllables out particularly long.
Bi Shenghua felt a tingling ache in her lower abdomen and squeezed her legs together. "Don't!"
Qingmu had just lifted the restroom curtain. "Don't what?"
Bi Shenghua said, "Don't say 'pee.'"
Qingmu looked baffled. "Don't say pee? What do you mean, don't say 'pee'? Don't you need to pee-pee anymore?"
"..." Bi Shenghua was holding it in so hard that her face and ears were red. She couldn't get a word out.
Seeing her desperate expression, Qingmu pressed a finger to his lips. "Pee-pee comes first. No more talking! Shhh-"
Xiao Qi was comforting Mo Yu when he suddenly heard a clatter from the restroom, followed by the proprietress's furious curses:
"Get out! Get the fuck as far away from me as you can!"