This night, Ai Dong again dreamt of Xu Zhou, a tall, handsome boy. He was sweating after a game of football, sweat dripping down his wheat colored skin, he was in the corridor, running like a mouse towards Ai Dong, crying out loud from afar. "Xiao Dong Dong, where are you going?"
And then with his thick arms seized Ai Dong like a carrying a chicken and hugged him. His arm firmly around Ai Dong's neck, laughing cheekily. "Exams are over and don't be so quiet and melancholy like a woman."
.......like a woman.
In the dream when Xu Zhou said those words, Ai Dong woke up from the dream, wiped the sweat that had formed on his forehead, sat up in bed and gasped for breath.
His love for that person was his secret and has been hidden well by him. Hidden in a place somewhere in his heart, waiting for time to slowly bury this love that could not be told or spoken. Let it slowly rot, then one day maybe he can meet a woman, two people together raise a dog, give birth to a child and live the rest of his life this way.
But he had tried hard for a long time now but it seems that it could not be done or at least in his dream, it could not be done.
With his heart pounding, Ai Dong wiped his sweat as he got off the bed and went to the side of the cupboard. He lifted up the red sandalwood colored wedding invitation off the top of the cupboard and the beautiful elegant print pricked his eyes.
'You are cordially invited to the reception of Mr. Xu Zhou and Miss Lin Dai's wonderful wedding.'
Ai Dong smiled slightly, gently traced his hands over the groom's face. In the photo, the groom was laughing and embracing his new bride in his arms, using the same arm that he had put around Ai Dong's neck that year. He had become a matured, serious man, no longer the big boy's appearance that was etched in Ai Dong's memory.
Ai Dong looked desolately at the wedding invitation, he muttered a 'fuck', put the invitation back in its original place and dejectedly went back to sleep.
Ai Dong drank a belly full of red wine at Xu Zhou's wedding dinner. His former classmate sitting next to him pointed his index finger at him, laughed and ridiculed him. "Look at Dong Zi.....he is drunk. He is staring at Lao Zhou's wife."
"This bachelor have not seen a woman before..... Hey, Dong Zi, you cannot stare at your buddy's wife, Zhou Zi will poke your eyes."
"His wife is already three months pregnant and Zhou Zi has a car, a house and his wife is expecting a child. We understand you, Dong Zi, we understand."
Dong Zi who was in a drunken stupor, dizzily held onto the big hands of his former classmate whose nickname was 'Peas'. He loudly said. "Peas, you are the only one who understands me. I hate that bastard, Zhou Zi, showing off his happiness in front of us, this group of poor guys, fuck! Running in a competition, you cannot outrun him, chasing a woman, you cannot better him, giving birth to a child, you cannot outdo him......fuck, he cannot do this to his brothers......"
Ai Dong with a belly full of wine clutched his stomach, walked unsteadily to the toilet to relieve his bladder. He was about to zip up his pants when he turned his head sideways and his forehead went numb, so shocked that he took a step back.
He thought he had drunk too much so his eyes were blurred. So, he shook his head and blinked his eyes a few times to ensure that the bully standing two steps away from him was not an illusion. Ai Dong timidly greeted him. "Loong, Brother Loong.....what a coincidence, ah."
Deng Loong dressed in a western suit seemed to have come out from a banquet, without a strand of hair out of place. Just by looking at his face gave one a strong sense of oppression, absolutely domineering.
Ai Dong stepped back, thinking of the undercover job that he and Senior Sister Fang had carried out in Meise which had been exposed. Deng Loong had his men prowled the streets looking for him and threatened to turn every inch of the city to get him. Deng Loong had also wanted to extract his mouse faeces, pull out his nerves and skin him alive......thinking of this, Ai Dong's legs became weak, probably he had drunk too much and his legs even trembled slightly.
A mysterious smile appeared on Deng Loong's face. Exuding a force of evil, he took a step towards Ai Dong and moved closer to him with a hint of threat making Ai Dong who was shorter by a head shrink his neck. The smile on Deng Loong's face became deeper. "It's really a coincidence, Dong Zi. If I had not left early from the banquet upstairs, I'm afraid, I, Deng Loong will not be able to see you again, Brother Ai.....I fear maybe another 800 years later."
As Deng Loong spoke, his evil hands were stretched out low, touched the zipper of Dong Zi's pants which was not pulled up. Dong Zi was so scared that his soul flew away and he had forgotten to breathe. Deng Loong smiled at him, his hands ambiguously touched the zipper, slowly groped a bit, lowered his hand and gave the zip a pull as he spoke in an ambiguous voice. And then, still slightly smiling, he buckled the trouser buttons, fasten the belt and by the time he had completed everything, Ai Dong was so scared that his eyes were staring straight.
Deng Loong released a good-natured and slightly dangerous laugh. Then he patted Dong Zi's head. "Do you like my service.....Police Officer Ai?"
Dong Zi was so scared that he shook his head, thought for a while, then quickly nodded his head again. He was not strong enough and tears were coming fast, big droplets dripping down.
Fear.....how could anyone not feel fearful. It was said that when Deng Loong was 15 years-old, his father reigns the underworld and was invincible. When his rival saw that they could not take down the old one, they took the young one, which was a mistake. Because the young one was not someone easy to deal with......he was full of himself.
Making up the excuse of the need to pee in the river, he kicked one of the kidnappers into the river and when another kidnapper took out a knife, the 15 years-old Deng Loong was just as aggressive. Actually, he was a newborn calf but he had the look of a mature lion and a face of fearlessness. "Stab me, stab me.....you give me a stab, I'll give you 10 stabs in return. You give me two stabs, I'll make your whole family eat guns."
It had to be said, that working in this 'Intimidation' line of work, whether dead or alive, he was born to be in this line. Eating from this bowl of rice* and even now as a businessman, he could not ignore the act of ruthlessness.
(Rice bowl means occupation and eating from this bowl of rice means living on this source of income or working in this job)
When Ai Dong was working in Meise, he had heard about Deng Loong's past and when his colleagues had secretly told him, revealing all these things, his face had revealed a tinge of fear.
Ai Dong from young had always bullied the weak but feared the tough. He grew up with small arms and legs and was easily bullied by fellow students who beat him with their fists and kicked him with their feet. After beaten swollen like a pig head, Ai Dong felt unhappy and bullied guys that were smaller than him. He was not a good person either.
As time passed, still feeling fearful, Ai Dong had never gone against the tough and would retreat if necessary to avoid confrontations. It was unfortunate that he was born with small arms and small legs and his parents being ordinary people.
Ai Dong's mind turned quickly, putting on a flattering and stiff smile, said. "Brother Loong, I......I am also working to put food in my mouth. Now public bureau food is not good and work is not easy to find. Brother Loong, please be magnanimous, do not take this matter to heart."
Deng Loong's eyes unconsciously narrowed. He was taller than Dong Zi by nearly a head and a half, this battle array, like a beast forcing his prey into a corner, revealing a bit of cruelty.
Ai Dong could smell the fishy-smell of blood that was about to float by and it was the smell of his own blood. He felt so anxious that he was now half sober and when two drunk middle-aged men came into the toilet, the monkey-wise Ai Dong was overjoyed and had a new kind of feeling, quickly said. "Brother Loong, I am attending my buddy's wedding, I.....I'll leave first."
He was about to slip away but Deng Loong was not afraid of other people's presence. Like grabbing a chicken, Deng Loong grabbed his little arm and leaned near his ear spraying hot air. "If you dare to take a step, I will settle our grievances, now."
Then Deng Loong with his evil eyes looked down at Dong Zi's lower body. His implication was obvious and Ai Dong was a smart man, tactfully froze, stood in his original place not daring to move even half a step. He was about to cry.
This night, Police Officer Ai Dong was seized by Deng Loong and taken away in his luxury car. Although he was in a car, Ai Dong had a terrible feeling like he was on a pirate's ship* (Ventured into a dubious situation). But in the comfort of alcohol, his apprehensive heart obtained temporary relief.....he fell asleep.
Deng Loong drove his car to his club, under the soft lights of the car, he looked at the little boy's gentle feminine side profile, pink delicate white skin, coupled with his tiny rosy lips, sleeping mindlessly like a child. Deng Loong cunningly lifted the corner of his mouth.
The weather is good, it's time to cast the net.......
Deng Loong with a calm face, shook Dong Zi awake and when he woke up from his drunken stupor, he felt a blast of cold wind. His cloudy brain cleared up, he sobered a little and started to shiver. Looking at the low-key gorgeous***club, in his heart, Ai Dong told himself that his virginity would be buried in there tonight. He could run away from the monk but he could not run away from the temple. The last time it was Senior Sister who came to his rescue in the middle of the night. Just now when he came out of the wedding hall, he had left his phone on the table. In the wilderness, even if he shouted, no one would care and not to mention, the vigorous man in front of him did not want his life, he only wanted Ai Dong's chrysanthemum.
Thinking of this, Ai Dong felt a tingling pain in his hidden back.
If Deng Loong knew, he would definitely state his innocence. He still had not made his move yet.
Such people are often the most abominable.
This night, Ai Dong, Police Officer Ai's chrysanthemum was still safe but the good thing was only one and the bad thing came in a basket full. He lost a total of eight million......bear in mind it was not Japanese Yen or Korean Won but Chinese Yuan.
The creditor was naturally the slightly smiling gentleman sitting at the table, Deng Loong.
He laughed like a gentleman but in fact, he was an animal. When the dealer with an expressionless face told Deng Loong how much Ai Dong owed him, Ai Dong felt pain in his head, pain in his stomach, pain in his ass and pain throughout his body.
Sweat dripped downwards, drip, drip, drip, that light sound was like the God of Life giving him a cruel sentence, saying: Ai Dong...... Ai Dong......you will be bankrupt, dumped on the streets subjected to eternal damnation with no hope of reprieve and buried in the wilderness.
This cruel figure made Ai Dong's mind drifted away, thinking: My bank deposits is only 80,000 yuan which was saved up in a full two years. Then how much is 8 million yuan divided by 80,000? ?
How much is it? Aiya....when I was young, my math was top notch, how come this ordinary math question I cannot solve now?
A person who had drunk too much alcohol would be muddle-headed. He blankly blurted out. "How much is 8 million divided by 80,000?"
The dealer maintained his expressionless face, the cards in his hands suddenly appeared to be alive, flying in midair like a dragon forming an arc.
"100." The man who seemed like a good man, sitting opposite me, Deng Loong reminded me.
Under the light, his good-natured smile made Ai Dong trembled in fear and cold sweat dripped down.
After digesting this figure, Ai Dong blinked his eyes several times, then with stiff hands picked up the cup from the table and trembling, he poured the cold water into his mouth. He drank all in a gulp.
8 million.......
Fuck......he had to save for 200 years........