Chapter 17
I believed the issue of him getting fat was still the more pressing matter.
Eldest Brother said to me, “Yixin, no matter what is going on between the two of you, at least don’t let him sit there looking like some local ruffian or bandit. Shave that beard of his.”
I didn’t dare state the plain truth: isn’t the Zhao family just a bunch of local ruffians and bandits anyway…
Fourth Master Zhao said to me, “Go snatch his chocolate away.”
Plucking food from a tiger’s mouth!
I went over to Zhao Gongzi’s side and said, “The Master said for you to hand the chocolate over.”
Zhao Gongzi coldly continued eating.
I returned to Fourth Master Zhao’s side and said, “He refuses.”
Fourth Master Zhao said, “Then I will beat your dog to death first, and then beat you to death.”
Ham is innocent, he doesn’t know anything. If you’re going to beat him to death, so be it, just don’t beat me to death as well!
I walked back over to Zhao Gongzi’s side once more and said, “The Master said if you don’t give the chocolate to me, he will beat Ham to death.”
Zhao Gongzi cursed at me, “Damn it! You might as well just drop dead from being so cowardly! Damn it! You only know how to act tough with me! Damn it! Get lost!”
I couldn’t get lost; Fourth Master Zhao was glaring at me like a tiger eyeing its prey.
I said, “Eating too much chocolate isn’t good for your health, and besides, you’re too fat right now. Why on earth are you wearing slippers and a tracksuit to a ball?”
Zhao Gongzi barked at me, “Damn it! These are my going-out clothes! I paid a hundred silver dollars for them. Did you think I’d stop buying clothes altogether without you around? Who the fuck do you think you are?”
Damn it, he got swindled out of his money again.
Zhao Gongzi cursed at me, “Damn it, I never liked wearing suits, tying ties, and wearing leather shoes in the first place!”
I couldn’t bear it anymore: “You’re too fat.”
“None of your fucking business!”
“When you roll over at night, you’ll crush Ham to death.”
“That broken dog, if he gets crushed to death I’ll just stew him. Barking every single day, damn it.”
“If you don’t want to raise him, give him back to me.”
“That is my dog!”
“I’ll only raise him for a week. My former principal is willing to write me a recommendation to study abroad. It’s the school I was originally supposed to go to before. I won’t be seeing him ever again after that.”
Zhao Gongzi stared at me coldly for a moment, then said, “You’re going to be buried alive by my dad.”
I said, “If you give me the chocolate, I won’t be.”
I brought the chocolate to Fourth Master Zhao, saying absolutely nothing.
If I get buried alive, then so be it. Who knows, maybe I’ll manage to escape.
Fourth Master Zhao certainly didn’t misjudge me; I am a person who will stop at nothing to achieve my goals.
It was just that I didn’t manage to get Ham back. Zhao Gongzi wouldn’t let me see him.
I reasonably suspected that Ham had already been stewed by him.
So, I picked a time during the day to stand beneath the apartment building. I blew a hand whistle, and there was my Ham, pressing against the glass, wagging his tailāwagging it with all his might.
Three seconds later, Ham was scooped up by a hand, and the curtains were drawn shut.
Hao Da had betrayed me. He explicitly told me that Zhao Gongzi wouldn’t be home during the day today.
I have absolutely nothing. Ham is no longer mine, and Zhao Gongzi’s assistant belongs to Zhao Gongzi now too.
Zhao Gongzi isn’t mine either.
Only freedom has opened its welcoming embrace to me.
I am about to throw myself into the arms of freedomāor the dirt.
Either I will board a cruise ship bound for the opposite shore of the ocean, or I will be sunk to the bottom of the sea by Fourth Master Zhao.
Chapter 11: Instigating an Elopement
I was about to depart. The only problem left was evading Fourth Master Zhao’s deadly pursuit.
On that day, the ship was scheduled for two-thirty in the afternoon.
I woke up at five-thirty in the morning. I tucked my letters, documents, and travel expenses safely into my coat. Aside from those, I carried nothing else, just in case it aroused suspicion or hindered my escape.
After finishing breakfast, I tidied up the room and prepared to leave. I had already spoken with a friend, who would come by a few days later to help move my luggage and terminate the leaseāor help clear away my remains.
I opened the door, only to see Zhao Gongzi. He had slimmed back down. He was wearing my suit, my leather shoes, my tie, and my hat.
He wanted to have a chat with me.
I had no choice but to agree to have a chat with him.
ā
Zhao Gongzi and I went to a coffee shop. We looked at each other in total silence, an utterly awkward scene.
After a long while, he placed a check on the table: “It can be cashed abroad. My dad won’t be able to trace it.”
I said, “I can’t take this.”
Zhao Gongzi said, “You have to take it whether you want to or not.”
I said, “Thank you.”
He added, “I’ll escort you over in a moment. You pretend that we’ve made up.”
I froze for a moment.
“Don’t look back. My dad got wind of this.”
I looked at him.
He lowered his head to drink his coffee, cursing at me, “Damn it, this stuff doesn’t taste good at all. It’s for the best that you’re getting the fuck out. I loathe drinking this garbage. Damn it, you always have to follow every trend. Hurry up and beat it.”
Even at a moment like this he still insisted on cursing at me, which made me incredibly angry. I bolted upright, reached across the table to grab him by his tie, and kissed his mouth.
Only after a good while did I let him go.
He stared at me silently for a moment, then said, “One of them left.”
Then he grabbed me by my tie and kissed my mouth.
Only after a good while did he let me go.
He stared at me silently for a moment, then said, “Another one left.”
“This is too slow,” I put forward a viable suggestion. “There’s a hotel upstairs. Let’s go up. They might leave even faster that way.”
Without a second word, Zhao Gongzi grabbed my hand and headed straight for the elevator.
ā
We checked into a room, and once inside, we did this and that, so on and so forth. Coffee truly contains neuro-stimulants and really shouldn’t be drunk in excess.
By the time the two of us calmed down, it was profoundly awkward.
Zhao Gongzi sat at the head of the bed smoking a cigarette, while I silently checked my wristwatch.
It was two-forty-five in the afternoon.
Zhao Gongzi said, “They should all be gone by now.”
