Chapter 44: The Bear Pill of Unknown Origin

There were some faint rustling sounds from inside. Just as Chai Jin was about to knock again, the door opened.

Liu Qingwen, shirtless and covered in sweat, smiled awkwardly. “Hehe, Jin, how did you know I was here?”

Chai Jin frowned. “What are you up to?” He pushed the door open and went inside. “I need to tell you what needs to be done tomorrow.”

Liu Qingwen, looking extremely guilty, followed behind. “Why don’t we talk later when I’m back in my room?”

“Why not now? Is there someone else in here?” Chai Jin looked around the room as he spoke.

When he reached the area near the bathroom, he saw a young woman standing in front of the glass, fixing her hair. Bold as could be, she wore nothing at all, her back exposed to Chai Jin in full view—her curves perfectly accentuated.

The girl seemed not the least bit embarrassed. Instead, she turned around and greeted him with a raised hand, “Hi, nice to meet you, I’m—”

“Damn!” Liu Qingwen, snapping back to his senses, hurriedly shut the door.

“Hehe, Jin, just a friend I met today. We were chatting outside and realized we have a lot in common,” Liu Qingwen explained sheepishly. “To see how much we differ, we decided to, uh, explore further together in here.”

Chai Jin’s face darkened. “Once you’re done, come back to your room.” With that, he turned and left, leaving Liu Qingwen with a pounding headache.

After Chai Jin left, Liu Qingwen opened the bathroom door. “At least put on your underwear, would you? You’re making things really awkward for me!”

“Oh, really?” The girl applied her eyebrow pencil in the mirror. “Don’t all men like this sort of thing? Just consider it a favor.”

Liu Qingwen gazed at the girl reflected in the mirror, his mind racing. His breathing quickened, and he suddenly pulled her into his arms. “You need to be punished!”

…

Chai Jin waited over half an hour before Liu Qingwen finally sauntered over, bringing the extravagantly dressed girl with him. Her hair was permed in curls, her figure striking. Though it was nearly March and still chilly, she wore a miniskirt as if she didn’t feel the cold at all—just like one of those nightclub girls.

Chai Jin was a little annoyed. “Are you planning to have her sleep in our room tonight?”

The girl scoffed. “Stop pretending. I have no interest in listening to you two argue. I’ll wait outside.” She left the room, clearly displeased.

Liu Qingwen, caught in the middle, tried his best to appease her and saw her out, then sat down beside Chai Jin. “Jin, try to understand, I’ve never been in a relationship before. It’s rare to find true love.”

Chai Jin retorted, “And what about that Miss Feng from Yuanli County? Wasn’t she your true love too? It’s only been a few days and you’ve already forgotten her?”

“No, Jin, you’ve got it wrong, it’s a misunderstanding. Let’s talk business—what was it you wanted to discuss?”

Chai Jin sighed. “You can chase women all you want, but I hope you’ll use your head and not lose yourself over them. We’re here to make something of ourselves, not to fool around. If your heart’s not in it, you’d better go back to Yuanli County before something goes wrong. This isn’t Yuanli County—if something happens in Zhonghai, I can’t fix it for you!”

Liu Qingwen hastily offered all sorts of assurances. He explained the girl’s story: her name was Xiong Dan. During the day, while Chai Jin was busy, Liu Qingwen wandered the city out of boredom. That’s how he met Xiong Dan. They hit it off, discovering they were both from Jiangnan Province. Liu Qingwen certainly had a way with women; step by step, he’d invited Xiong Dan to the guesthouse.

Chai Jin only cared whether she knew anything about the subscription certificates. Liu Qingwen patted his chest and swore she didn’t, finally putting Chai Jin’s mind at ease.

“In any case, have your fun, but don’t get yourself in trouble. Do what needs to be done tomorrow, and get some rest,” Chai Jin said at last.

“Okay, right, Jin, I’ll head back to my room then.”

“Go ahead,” Chai Jin replied, no longer interested in talking, and made his way to the bathroom to wash up.

Not long after, Xiong Dan’s voice could be heard from outside, “Again? Do you think I’m made of iron?”

“Didn’t we just do it?”

“Hah, don’t mind me—twenty-some years of energy all stored up, it’s bound to erupt.”

…

And so another night passed. Fortunately, Liu Qingwen hadn’t lost himself entirely in the arms of a woman. He was up early, waiting outside Chai Jin’s door.

The two of them set out again to collect more subscription certificates. When he was out, Chai Jin still worried about the safety at the guesthouse.

So, without telling Liu Qingwen, he rented a small apartment, and moved all the certificates they’d bought into it. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Liu Qingwen, but he didn’t trust the woman, Xiong Dan. Her background was unclear—if, come March, the certificates became valuable and she found out they had tens of thousands stored in their room, who knew what she might do? Anyone would be tempted by such wealth, and might well risk everything to steal them.

That day, they spent a lot more money, bringing back three thousand certificates. As soon as they returned, Liu Qingwen couldn’t wait to dash to his room. All day, he’d been distracted by the thought of Xiong Dan and her uninhibited allure; a young man fresh from the countryside, dazzled by the city’s temptations, was bound to lose himself for a while.

Xiong Dan was watching TV. He stripped off his clothes as soon as he entered, immediately pressing himself onto her. After a long while, exhausted but content, he finally let her go.

“I’m dead tired today,” he groaned.

Xiong Dan kicked him with her long leg. “Funny, you didn’t seem so tired when you were all over me just now. Did you get me anything to eat? I’m starving.”

“Oh, yes, I did!” Liu Qingwen hurriedly fetched the takeout he’d bought.

Xiong Dan climbed out of bed, not bothering to put on any clothes, and sat down to eat.

Liu Qingwen looked at her. “You still haven’t told me why you ended up on the street. Did something happen?”

“That’s none of your business,” Xiong Dan replied coldly, glancing at the certificates in his hand. “Why are you buying those things? Aren’t they a scam?”

Liu Qingwen played dumb, keeping his guard up. “Planning to invest in stocks. I spent all two thousand on these.”

“Stocks, stocks, everyone’s gone crazy for stocks. Everywhere I go, that’s all I hear about,” Xiong Dan said with a roll of her eyes. “And your friend—what does he do? He seems awfully aloof.”

“We’re working on a small business here,” Liu Qingwen replied. “Once we’re done, we’ll head to Shenzhen.”

“Fine, enough about that. Is this any good?” she asked, changing the subject.

…

At that moment, Chai Jin wasn’t in his room. Taking advantage of Liu Qingwen’s absence from the guesthouse, he moved all the certificates they’d collected that day into the small apartment he’d rented nearby. Passing a public phone on his way out, he paused, then picked up the receiver and dialed the number for the distillery’s office.