“He has needle marks on his arm,” Huo Ranyin said, picking up the cards again and shuffling them slowly. The cards flew between his hands like sprites.
“You took one look through the window and figured out he was a drug addict?”
“I judged by his face,” Huo Ranyin remained unflappable. “Good luck.”
“Heh,” Ji Xun chuckled. Usually, he was the one surprising others; this time, it was his turn to be surprised. With the situation now in the other’s hands, Ji Xun thought he should leave, but just then, Huo Ranyin stopped shuffling and fanned the cards out. His long fingers slid over the fanned cards one by one, like a pianist testing the breath of the keys.
“Name a card.”
“You’ll draw whatever I name?”
“Yes.”
Ji Xun looked at the cards. “Shouldn’t there be a wager for this?”
“Of course. If I draw it, you accompany me upstairs to investigate. If I don’t, you can name your terms.”
“You talk big.”
“Because…” Huo Ranyin opened a beer, not just his own, but Ji Xun’s as well. Then he picked up his bottle and lightly tapped the other one still on the table, his tone ambiguous. “This is what makes it exciting.”
He reached for the deck of cards, but Ji Xun reached out at the same time, pressing down on the cards Huo Ranyin had picked up.
Two hands on one card.
“A small gamble is amusing, a big one is harmful. We don’t bet on serious matters. What we’re doing is serious business, so we should stay away from gambling. My suggestion is: I go up with you to investigate, and you tell me the clues about the casino. How about it?” Ji Xun said slowly, extending his hand.
Huo Ranyin looked at Ji Xun for a while and suddenly smiled. His voice was seductive. “So little gambling spirit? If you lose this round, you just have to accompany me upstairs for a trip. But if you win, you can make me do anything unrelated to work—anything at all.”
“Gambling is risky; bets must be placed with caution,” Ji Xun said slowly. “I prefer an exchange of equal value.”
“Looks like you really don’t want to play?” Huo Ranyin said with some regret. “Fine, we’ll exchange clues about the casino.”
“From the sound of it, Captain Huo has many other clues.”
“Unless we cooperate, I have nothing more to say,” Huo Ranyin said.
Ji Xun pouted slightly. He was still slouched loosely in his chair, his gaze never leaving Huo Ranyin’s face.
“Liang Jing Jing KTV is members-only. The elevator requires a card, and the hallway is guarded. Considering the young punk you just encountered is an addict, to prepare for the worst, the casino has changed its skin and become a place for group drug use, currently in a semi-closed, tightened state. To catch a thief, you need the stolen goods; to catch drug users, you need to catch them in the act. Now is not the time to alert the enemy. It’s best to find a reason to sneak up and scope things out first.”
“But there’s a hurdle here. The thirty-thousand-yuan membership fee, and the pretense of the KTV being closed. Even if we pay the fee, we might not be able to get up. It’s possible the anti-drug squad alerted them somewhere before, making them vigilant.”
Huo Ranyin nodded, agreeing with Ji Xun’s assessment.
“So I offer a simpler method.”
Ji Xun didn’t stop.
“By the elevator next to the bar, there’s a woman in her mid-twenties, wearing a student uniform and carrying a designer bag. Her shoes and socks don’t quite match her uniform, and neither does the bag. She also has an elevator card for Liang Jing Jing KTV in her hand.”
A prostitute, an “ice sister.”
Huo Ranyin’s mind flashed with the guess, and he raised an eyebrow. “Any more evidence?”
“Captain Huo is truly meticulous about everything, even when off duty,” Ji Xun sneered.
A 24 or 25-year-old in a student uniform with a designer bag was nothing. It would be normal anywhere else, but she was lingering here, and her outfit was incongruous. It was less a matter of personal style and more like she was dressed to someone else’s request.
Considering this, both a prostitute and an “ice sister” were highly likely.
“She’s holding the elevator card but hasn’t gone up yet. She’s sending a voice message in front of the elevator,” Ji Xun continued. The distance was too great and the angle was wrong; he could only see her talking to her phone, not her exact lip movements. “She looks very angry.”
Huo Ranyin said, “She had an appointment upstairs, but now there’s been an accident?”
“I thought so too,” Ji Xun nodded. “Considering she’s already put a lot of effort into this outing, even parading around for half the night in an unsuitable outfit, I don’t think she’s willing to leave empty-handed…”
Huo Ranyin understood. “You want her to take us upstairs.”
“I’ve made a plan for this, with a 70% success rate.”
Huo Ranyin’s interest was piqued. “Tell me.”
“Captain Huo will use his handsome-man-trap, seduce her, and make her take you upstairs as her sugar daddy to show off. I’ll be your follower,” Ji Xun said.
“…” Huo Ranyin.
“I’m serious,” Ji Xun said sincerely. “The success rate is really not low. You have a luxury watch on your wrist worth two hundred thousand. The poor play with cars, the rich play with watches. Captain Huo has one foot in the bourgeoisie.”
“I also have a plan,” Huo Ranyin said.
“We don’t need too many plans…”
“The face, I’m not the only one who has one; the watch, I can lend it to you,” Huo Ranyin finished coolly.
“No room for negotiation?”
“Uh-huh.”
“This is not conducive to cooperation. Why don’t we each take a step back…”
“Seduce her together, a double handsome-man-trap?” Huo Ranyin said sarcastically, finding some amusement in it at the end. “Together is an option.”
“Let’s play rock-paper-scissors,” Ji Xun suggested slowly.
“…”
His luck wasn’t good; Ji Xun lost this round of rock-paper-scissors. A bet is a bet. He didn’t ask for Huo Ranyin’s watch, just took his phone and walked over himself.
Huo Ranyin sat in his original seat. He saw Ji Xun slowly walk to the front counter, pretending to buy something.
The receptionist handed Ji Xun a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. Without seeing Ji Xun move, the lighter seemed as if all its oil had leaked out, sliding off the counter without friction and falling right in front of the elevator woman’s feet.
The elevator woman turned her head and saw Ji Xun.
Well, it’s done.
Huo Ranyin looked away, his interest waning.
Whether in the past or present, Ji Xun had always possessed charm. In the past, his high-spirited demeanor was admirable. Now, the high spirits were indeed gone, replaced by a decadent, absurd, roguish air—and what was more fatal, he was also talented.
Thus, all women with a spirit of adventure and maternal love were drawn to him like moths to a flame.
Huo Ranyin took a couple of sips of beer until Ji Xun called out to him.
“Young Master Huo, over here.”
Huo Ranyin was almost taken aback by the strange form of address. Then he glanced at the time.
Less than ten minutes had passed since the man stood up.
He’s got it.
He stood up, took the two bottles of beer, and went to Ji Xun’s side. Ji Xun was now standing with the elevator woman. When he handed the beer bottle to Ji Xun, he opportunely revealed the watch on his wrist.
The smile on the elevator woman’s face became even more charming.
Ji Xun took the beer bottle but didn’t drink, just swirled it in his hand with an ambiguous smile. “Beauty Sisi invites us upstairs to sing. What do you say, shall we go?”
Huo Ranyin deliberately showed a lack of interest. “Now? Don’t you need a membership to get into the KTV upstairs?”
“Right now, of course. It’s only eight o’clock. It’s too early to go back, so boring. Why don’t we all have some fun? It’s just for fun, no need for so many rules. We can talk about membership later,” Sisi winked. She was in a student uniform but wore overly heavy makeup. Under her short skirt, a tattoo on her leg was faintly visible. Her feigned innocence couldn’t hide her worldly air. “If Young Master Huo is worried, I can take you home later, okay?”
Ji Xun timely entered the elevator and stood with Sisi. “Alright, come on in. Will you lose a pound just by singing a song?”
The three of them took the elevator upstairs together. The elevator doors opened, and a KTV attendant in uniform guarding the entrance was startled to see them, raising a hand to block them. “You…”
“They’re my friends,” Sisi said first, linking her arms with both of them.
“Sister Sisi, they are not KTV members,” the attendant said with some difficulty. “Besides, we’re not open for business right now.”
“What, am I not a member? Can’t a member like me bring two people in? And not open for business? If you’re not open, why did Little Brother Chen call me today and ask me to come over? If you’re not open, what’s that sound inside? Are ghosts singing?” Sisi’s face showed her annoyance.
Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin exchanged a subtle glance.
Such tight security was indeed strange.
“Stop the nonsense and open a room,” Sisi said again. “If you don’t let me in today, don’t even think about asking me to set foot in this place again.”
The attendant gave his colleague a look, probably to find someone who could make a decision. Then he put on a smile and led the three of them to a private room.
The room the attendant chose was right by the elevator. As the man gripped the doorknob, Ji Xun said, “Find one further inside.”
Several people looked at him.
Ji Xun raised an eyebrow. “Quieter, easier to get things done.”
Sisi playfully punched Ji Xun’s shoulder, cooing, “You’re so bad. What things are we getting done?”
Ji Xun smiled without speaking, caught her little hand, and secretly shook his shoulders twice. As soon as he finished, he met Huo Ranyin’s gloating eyes. He shot the other man a glare: What are you looking at? Look again and I’ll give you my spot.
The reason Ji Xun gave was reasonable, so the attendant continued to lead them forward.
There weren’t many people in the KTV. Along the red carpet, Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin passed twenty or thirty rooms, with only about a tenth of them occupied. These rooms were also very tightly closed, and hardly any sound could be heard from inside.
It wasn’t until they reached the end of the corridor that there was a noticeable sound and light.
He glanced in the direction of the sound source.
It was the end of the corridor, where there were two heavy, tightly closed mahogany doors. The door handles were gold-plated and carved with dragons. Light and singing, along with more boisterous laughter from men and women, seeped through the cracks.
Without a doubt, this room was more luxurious than the others, and also had more people.
“This one,” Ji Xun called a halt, pointing to a room three doors away from the end of the corridor.
The attendant turned on the lights and equipment, brought a menu, and quickly exited, leaving the three of them alone.
All three sat on the sofa. Sisi leaned towards Ji Xun first. “Little Brother Ji, want a drink? Or should we sing first?”
“Let’s sing,” Ji Xun said. He switched the beer in his right hand to his left, blocking the woman who was leaning in, and redirected the trouble. “Ask Young Master Huo what he wants to sing.”
With two men, one on each side, she really couldn’t stick to one and neglect the other.
Sisi sidled up to Huo Ranyin. “What songs does Young Master Huo like? How about we sing a duet, a love song?”
Huo Ranyin gave Ji Xun a warning look. Just then, the door to the room was knocked, and the attendant who had just left came in with a fruit platter and drinks. He took the opportunity to block Sisi, saying, “Little Brother Ji was clamoring for fruit downstairs. Get him some fruit to eat.”
Alright then.
Sisi speared a cherry tomato with a toothpick, cupped it with her hand, and turned to feed it to Ji Xun. “Little Brother Ji, here.”
Ji Xun leaned back directly to avoid it.
Sisi: “…”
Ji Xun patted the woman’s shoulder, stood up, switched places, and sat down next to Huo Ranyin. And that wasn’t all. He directly put his arm around Huo Ranyin’s shoulder, dragged him from Sisi’s side to the corner of the sofa, and whispered in his ear, “Someone has to stay behind to deal with her.”
Huo Ranyin turned his head and smiled. “I think you’re very suitable.”
“You brought me up here just to have me do this?”
“Just making the best use of talent,” Huo Ranyin said. “Besides, from the moment we came up, hasn’t she been sticking to you? It seems she likes you more. We should also respect the opinion of the person involved.”
“Narrow-minded,” Ji Xun said. “If being close counts as liking, aren’t we a hundred times closer than she is right now? What, does Captain Huo like me? Then give me a kiss. Give me a kiss and I’ll sacrifice myself to the wolf, letting Captain Huo get out of here squeaky clean.”
Just one sofa.
Two men, one woman, sat as if they were the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl separated by the Milky Way.
A few minutes ago, Sisi’s confused gaze was still on Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin. A few minutes later, the woman stopped looking. She crossed her legs, flicked a lighter, lit a cigarette, inhaled deeply, and exhaled deeply.
Her short skirt slipped down, revealing a rose tattooed on the root of her thigh. Her pretentious innocence, in the midst of fire and smoke, melted like wax.
Heh.
Damned gays.
At the same time that Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin appeared in Liang Jing Jing KTV, the young punk who had been pushed to the ground by the security guard was also walking and cursing, arriving at a small convenience store two streets away from the KTV.
The convenience store was very old, with a dilapidated eave covering half of a wooden stall, on which sat an old-fashioned landline phone.
An old lady in her seventies or eighties, very hard of hearing, was watching the small TV on the shelf. The volume was turned up to the maximum, making one’s ears ring.
The already frustrated young punk became even more irritable. His eyes were fixed on the landline phone. An evil thought arose, and he picked up the phone and dialed 110. “I want to report a crime, someone is taking—”
But when the police officer’s voice actually came through the phone, he chickened out again.
The words “taking drugs” spun around in his mouth a couple of times before he swallowed them back down.
I just had a conflict with them. If I report drug use, they’ll definitely know it was me. Besides, if the place really gets busted, I’ll have nowhere to go either. He comforted himself this way and changed his story:
“I want to report a crime. Someone is hiring prostitutes for sexual transactions. The address is right above Lao San Mahjong, in Liang Jing Jing KTV!”
