AZG 15

Chapter 15

I merely wanted to use a civilized method to tell the piano teacher who had once played with my feelings that he had absolutely no right to criticize my choices and my life in front of me—that I was living far better than he was.

Thank you to all of them for letting me know that I was just dreaming.

Zhao Gongzi said, “Open the door first.”

Zhao Gongzi said, “Those two said they had something to take care of and left first. I had Da Tou send Jin Xian’er back. Open the door.”

Zhao Gongzi said, “The restroom isn’t exactly a nice place. Damn it, couldn’t you open a hotel room to go inside and throw your tantrum?”

I opened the door and looked at him.

He said displeasedly, “What is it now? You knew I had Jin Xian’er accompany me tonight to talk business. He drank a lot of liquor, so I was just here having dinner with him to help him sober up.”

The one who needed to wake up was me.

I didn’t like Zhao Gongzi. I wanted to study abroad, and I had been just a hair’s breadth away from being able to go. On the very day I was scheduled to interview with the admissions officer from that university, Zhao Gongzi got into a car crash.

There truly has never been a single moment when he wasn’t loathsome.

I owed a debt of gratitude to Fourth Master Zhao, but I never owed anything to him, Zhao Long.

Zhao Gongzi snapped, “Say something!”

I said, “It’s nothing. Let’s go back. You forgot to feed Ham and he made a mess of the apartment. I’ll call Manager Wang in a bit and ask the servants to come clean it up.”

Zhao Gongzi blocked my way and cursed at me, “Damn it, if you want to throw a fit, can you just fucking throw it? I absolutely loathe seeing you like this. Damn it, I’ve never seen anyone as cowardly as you…”

Fourth Master Zhao had once told me that the only reason he raised me was because he happened to be in a good mood that day, and my horoscope wasn’t bad either. Later on, the reason he didn’t beat me out of the house was because Zhao Gongzi steadfastly denied that I was the one who seduced him. Fourth Master Zhao said he didn’t believe a word of Zhao Gongzi’s; he only believed that someone like me—who could sell out Zhao Gongzi’s report card just for piano lessons—could also sell myself out for money. But since Zhao Gongzi liked it, Fourth Master Zhao had no choice but to agree. If I didn’t know what was good for me, then I couldn’t blame Fourth Master Zhao for not giving Zhao Gongzi face.

I highly detested Zhao Gongzi because he had everything: an incredibly doting father, a prominent family background, and even the dog I raised was closer to him.

Aside from him, I had absolutely nothing—not even freedom or courage.

The insults Jin Xian’er threw at me were actually not wrong at all.

Zhao Gongzi: “Dam… What the hell are you crying for?! What did that Lin guy do?!”

I said, “I hate you.”

Zhao Gongzi cursed at me, “You hate me every single day! If I eat a piece of your chocolate, you hate me. If you don’t like the color of the socks I wear, you say I’m loathsome. Nothing I do looks right to you. Then what the fuck are you still staying with me for?!”

I said, “The Master said that unless you’ve had your fill of playing around, even if I die, he will cremate me and give me to you.”

In truth, I didn’t want to see Zhao Gongzi this upset. Because every time he got upset, Fourth Master Zhao would ask me why. If he found out it was caused by me, I would be beaten to death.

So I had to make Zhao Gongzi a bit happier, or at least stop him from going to pick a fight with Fourth Master Zhao tonight. It would be better to wait until tomorrow morning. He got angry every day, and his fits usually lasted no longer than five hours; he would be fine by tomorrow morning.

But today, my performance fell short. Zhao Gongzi locked Ham in the kitchen, ignored me completely, threw all the ragged clothes from the sofa onto the floor, wrapped himself in his bathrobe, and went to sleep.

It’s over. I’m going to be buried alive. Fourth Master Zhao loathes nothing more than being betrayed. That bottle of liquor from Tommy was poisoned.

Chapter 10: Consuming High Calories

Zhao Gongzi said he wanted to go back home to have a chat with Fourth Master Zhao.

I told him to stop lying to me; his version of “having a chat” was just throwing a tantrum, arguing, and smashing things.

Zhao Gongzi slammed the telephone down on the spot. “Who exactly is lying to whom?!”

He looked at me coldly. “I don’t want to see you right now. Get the fuck out of my way.”

I couldn’t move away from the front door. If he went to find Fourth Master Zhao, I’m afraid he truly would never see me again in the future—I would be buried alive by Fourth Master Zhao.

I swiftly deadbolted the door and threw the key out of the window. In any case, the telephone had been smashed by him, so there was no way to call someone to pick up the key.

Zhao Gongzi stared at me coldly for a moment, then turned around and started climbing out of the window.

The ancients lost Jingzhou through carelessness; I lost my own breath through carelessness.

I watched helplessly as he climbed out of the window and dropped down to the first floor in two or three swift motions. Back then, I really should have chosen the sixth floor instead of the second; at least it would have given him a proper scare.

I began to climb out of the window as well. Either way, I absolutely could not let him go find Fourth Master Zhao.

He glanced back and roared at me, “Go back inside! I only came out to pick up the fucking key!”

I said, “I’ll go back inside once you come back.”

He also realized how embarrassing this looked. Glancing left and right, he picked up the key and returned with flying strides.

“Get down!”

I climbed down from the windowsill and said, “I was drunk last night.”

Zhao Gongzi sat on the sofa, sneering, “In wine there is truth.”

This was precisely why I hated attending balls with him. I was afraid that after drinking, I wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to finish him off. I was eighteen the last time I drank too much.

I said, “My apologies. It won’t happen again.”

He said, “I’m going to make things clear with my dad and have you pack your bags and get out. As if I give a damn about you. What is it that I don’t fucking have? Why would I give a damn about you complaining that this hurts or that hurts all the time?”

I said, “I will be buried alive.”

He looked at me coldly. “Do you think my family forces decent people into prostitution or something?”

I said, “I am truly grateful to the Master, sincerely.”

He stood up to walk out.

I hurriedly wrapped my arms around him to drag him back, but I couldn’t budge him at all, and ended up being dragged right out the door by him.

Wearing nothing but our bathrobes and slippers, we returned to the main mansion.

Fourth Master Zhao burst into a loud laugh. “You two certainly have sharp ears!”

Neither Zhao Gongzi nor I had any idea what was going on.

Thirteenth Concubine stroked her flat lower abdomen and smiled with maternal tenderness. “Mother and child share a single heart. Once when Xiao Long fell ill out of town, I even dreamed about it.”

Oh. Thirteenth Concubine was pregnant.

Zhao Gongzi said, “I only just found out myself.”