Chapter 5 Hundred Thousand

Li Cu has been listening to Liang Wan and Wang Meng chatting during the meal. Wang Meng was very patient and didn’t ask Li Cu any questions, just kept casually chatting with Liang Wan. Li Cu became more and more confused as he listened to their conversation.

At first, Li Cu had thought that this Wang Meng might be a staff member of a mental hospital; otherwise, how could he have such a perverted colleague? Or maybe he was with the underworld, and Huang Yan was involved in some dirty business, Wang Meng was his partner, and now he had come to use money to keep Li Cu quiet. But after listening, Li Cu once again found something off. From this guy’s piecemeal words, he seemed more and more like a small businessman.

Since Wang Meng frequently mentioned such trivial things as goods, shops, and owners, it gave off a feeling that he was a vendor selling cut cakes, or a merchant selling dry goods. But Li Cu thought he was very good at judging people, and although this guy did small business, it was definitely different from others, since Wang Meng’s aura was completely different from that of ordinary people.

Indeed, it was a kind of distant feeling, as if everything the man said was irrelevant. The real secret was deeply buried in his heart and he would never say it.

From their conversation, Li Cu could also gather one thing— it seemed that Wang Meng’s boss was a very powerful and important person.

“He’s changed a lot compared to a year ago.” Wang Meng often used this phrase to describe his boss, but he was unwilling to reveal more.

Liang Wan seemed to be very interested in Wang Meng’s boss, and whether it was intentional or not, she often returned back to the topic, but Wang Meng easily fended her off. Liang Wan was really a top-notch love-struck fool, and didn’t realize that this man has been perfunctory.

Of course, when Li Cu remembered this scene many years later, he realized that Liang Wan wasn’t an infatuated fool, he just wasn’t good enough at judging people.

After the meal, they went to the nearby hotel. The combination of a man and a woman walking with a high school student, who was still wearing a hospital gown, was really quite strange. Fortunately, as long as there was money in this society, the problems one encountered would be fewer. As a result, this strange group of people didn’t run into any trouble.

Wang Meng had booked a luxurious suite, and Li Cu walked in like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden(1). When he saw the big sofa in the living room of the suite, he was stunned speechless.

Liang Wan took out the envelope she had showed Li Cu before and threw it on the sofa, then said to Wang Meng, “Hurry up.”

Just as she finished speaking, Wang Meng pulled a razor-like thing from his pocket and stabbed Liang Wan in the back. As it sent out a series of electric shocks, Liang Wan screamed and collapsed on the sofa.

“Taser.” Wang Meng explained to Li Cu, crouching down and touching Liang Wan’s neck as she lay there twitching. As he said this, he walked over to Li Cu: “Don’t be afraid, my colleague left something on your back and I want it back. The money is yours. I don’t want this woman to know too much about it.”

Li Cu was stunned. When he had felt his back at the hospital, all the scars on it had been sewn up by the doctor. How could there be anything? He thought to himself, “Damn it, you really came to finish your colleague’s perverted work.” What kind of shop was this guy talking about? Was it one selling handbags?

In this case, however, there was no point in making anymore guesses. Li Cu immediately backed away.

“Don’t be afraid.” Wang Meng continued, approaching him step by step with the taser still in hand. Li Cu knew it was going to be bad; he had seen the power of this kind of thing before on the internet. When people were electrocuted, they would even lose control of their bodily functions. Li Cu didn’t panic, however. His years of fighting and being chased by his father at home were enough to delay him for a while as his eyes instinctively looked around, searching for a way to escape.

The whole room was divided into two areas: one was the rest area where the bed was located, and the other was the office area with the sofa and coffee table. The so-called deluxe suite meant that the office area was extremely large, and there was also a comfortable three-person sofa there, which was placed in the most conspicuous position opposite the TV.

At present, Li Cu’s only advantage was the sofa standing between him and Wang Men. He knew that when one side was attacking, the first thing to do was to slow down their attack speed, and the simplest way to do so was to set obstacles in front of their route of attack.

Now, Wang Meng had only two choices if he wanted to attack Li Cu: one was to pick a direction and bypass the sofa, but then Li Cu could easily run in the opposite direction; the other one was to cross over the sofa directly, but if he didn’t have excellent skill, it would take longer than bypassing the sofa.

As long as Wang Meng chose a direction, Li Cu would have a chance. He could rush to the door, open it, and then yell “Pervert” in the corridor while rushing down the stairs.

He estimated that it would be safe to rush to the hall, because Wang Meng would certainly chase after him. If other people saw such a scene, their first reaction would be to hide away, and even if someone bravely stepped in, they would probably be knocked down by Wang Meng’s taser. But as long as there were enough people in the hall, Wang Meng wouldn’t be able to get him, even if he was tased. In that case, the worse thing he would suffer would be incontinence (2) in public.

Li Cu’s thoughts raced so fast that within half a second, he had made a plan. The only variable was whether Wang Meng had locked the door when he entered.

He hadn’t paid attention at that time. If Wang Meng had locked the door, then things would be a little troublesome, but his eyes also saw the bathroom right beside the door.

Indeed, the bathroom door was open, so if the main door couldn’t be opened, he could immediately rush into the bathroom and lock the door. There was a phone he could use to call the front desk.

Wang Meng was obviously thinking about how to attack with more certainty. When Li Cu moved, he followed, always predicting Li Cu’s next course of action. Wang Meng didn’t hastily press close, but also used the sofa as a barrier while he moved. His movements were very sensitive, and no matter how Li Cu tried to fake him out, he couldn’t be shaken off.

Li Cu’s cold sweat poured down as he realized he had finally met his match. This guy was completely different from his old man who drank too much and stumbled around everywhere. It seemed like he was familiar with the essence of this indoor chase. Maybe this guy had the same childhood as him.

The two men were repeatedly going back and forth like some beach dance, and Li Cu gradually became a little impatient. Several times he wanted to make a desperate attempt to get out, but he held back at the last minute. He found that Wang Meng was always ready for an all-out strike right when he was ready to give it his all.

What should he do?

Li Cu never thought he would get into this dilemma, and the wounds on his back began to itch and ache. But just as his footsteps began to falter, there was a loud thud and Wang Meng— who had been moving around in front of him— suddenly stopped, his eyes rolled back into his head, and then he collapsed to the ground. The taser in his hand also dropped to the floor and rolled all the way across the carpet to the corner.

Li Cu then saw Liang Wan standing behind Wang Meng, holding the handle of a vase. She went to smash it again, only to find that the remaining handle wouldn’t cause much damage. She threw it away and kicked Wang Meng hard in the crotch.

Wang Meng curled up in pain. At that moment, Liang Wan saw the taser in the corner, turned around and picked it up, and stabbed him in the back.

The smell of something burning suddenly spread, Wang Meng trembled all over, and a warm liquid spread from his crotch.

“Fucker, you dare to plot against me even though I was so sincere to you? Shit, it hurts.” Liang Wan touched the part of her back that had been shocked and sat down on the sofa, leaving Li Cu standing there alone, watching the scene in horror.

After a moment of silence, Liang Wan said to him, “Why are you standing there? Help me up quickly. Let’s go back to the hospital.”

“What about him?”

“Don’t worry, he won’t die. Do you want me to treat him?” Liang Wan asked.

“Shouldn’t we call the police?” Li Cu asked.

“We can’t call the police. You don’t know his identity, but I heard something about it. Calling the police is a big deal. I think I’ll have to take a few days off to hide, or they’ll come to me to settle the accounts.” Liang Wan said, “By the way, where’s your money?”

Li Cu took out the check, and Liang Wan said, “I get half of that. Today, I lost my blood for nothing.”

“What? You didn’t have someone carve a picture on your back.” Li Cu argued.

Liang Wan also refused to budge. “I have two holes in my back. I thought this boy was my true love. I didn’t think he had another purpose and would really do it. No matter, if you don’t split it with me, I’ll turn myself in and tell them all about your money. You’re taking bribes from criminals. At that time, you won’t get any money for safekeeping. “

Liang Wan bared her teeth after she said that. Li Cu looked at her and didn’t know whether it was the pain on her back, or whether she was really angry, but he quickly agreed. Liang Wan grabbed his hand and told him to hold her, saying, “Be more intimate and we’ll leave the hotel first. Heaven knows if he was alone.”

Liang Wan was a very petite woman, and when Li Cu’s hand rested on her shoulder, he found that she felt very comfortable. He couldn’t help holding her tightly, but Liang Wan didn’t notice as they got off the elevator. Li Cu’s hospital gown was very conspicuous, but no one stopped them as they went all the way out of the hotel doors and got into a taxi. Liang Wan breathed a sigh of relief.

“Where are we going now?” Li Cu asked.

Liang Wan looked at him, thought for a moment, and then said, “We’ll go to my house!”

<Chapter 4> <Table of Contents><Chapter 6>

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TN Notes:

(1) Character in the Chinese novel “Dream of the Red Chamber”. This is an expression used to describe someone, usually simple and unsophisticated, who is overwhelmed by new experiences and luxurious surroundings. Basically think like a country bumpkin going to the big city.

(2) Having no or insufficient voluntary control over urination or defecation.