Chapter Eighty-Seven: A Tangled Mess

I finished the cigarette before going back into the lounge. The deafening music once again assaulted my ears. As I returned to the table, Hua Jingjing said unhappily, “Why were you gone so long? The girl beside us left later than you and came back long ago.”

I said, “It was too noisy in here, so I went outside for some quiet just now. Honestly, what’s so fun about a place like this? We should leave while we can.”

This time Hua Jingjing agreed. She turned to Xu Xin beside her and said, “Xiaoxin, it’s rare for us to meet. Let’s find a quiet place and have a proper chat. It’s too exhausting to talk here; we’ll tear our throats out.”

The little witch said, “Sure, sure! Let’s talk until dawn tonight. So many things have happened over the years—I want to tell you everything at once. And I’d also love to hear the romantic love story between you and Mr. Tang. It must be wonderful, right?”

For her own selfish reasons, Hua Jingjing did not deny that I was not actually her boyfriend; instead, she smiled and silently accepted it. She reached out and flicked the little witch’s forehead, saying, “You little imp, what do you know? I’ll tell you when you’re grown up. Come on, let’s go.”

The little witch rose with a grin. “I’m almost eighteen already. Do you still think I’m a child? I don’t care, I want to hear it.”

I followed behind them, calculating in my mind. These two women hadn’t seen each other for years, and now that they had finally run into one another, they would surely chatter endlessly. What was I supposed to do, wedged between them? Better to take my leave early. Let’s see what tricks the little witch could still pull.

Once I made up my mind, as soon as we were out the lounge door I said to Hua Jingjing, “Jingjing, I think I’d better go first. You two women will be chatting and I won’t have much to add. It’d be boring for me, so I won’t go along. If anything comes up later, call me.”

Hua Jingjing thought about it. Though she was reluctant to let me leave, she also felt I made a fair point. She and Xu Xin had not seen each other for years, and once they started talking they would surely neglect me; besides, the things they talked about would not interest me anyway. So she nodded. “All right then. I’ll drive you home first.”

The little witch immediately said, “How can that be? You’re a man, aren’t you? Could you bear to abandon your own girlfriend and just leave? What if she gets bullied by someone outside? Who’s going to protect her? Aren’t you supposed to be her knight in shining armor?”

I had long expected the little witch to cause trouble, so I sneered and pointed at the two black-suited men who appeared like ghosts behind us. “Aren’t those your bodyguards? With them around, who would dare lay a finger on you?”

The little witch smiled. “Mr. Tang, please get this straight. Those two are my bodyguards. Their duty is only to protect me. As for anyone else, they don’t care.”

Seeing her brazenly twisting logic, I said angrily, “You two are together. What difference is there between protecting you and protecting her? Are you going to stand by and do nothing?”

“Oh, of course there’s a difference! Don’t women want the one they love to protect them? If you walk off and ignore her, then whether or not anyone bullies her, she’ll certainly feel hurt inside. Don’t tell me you don’t even understand something this simple. For a man, that’s embarrassing.”

I glared at her, ready to flare up. Hua Jingjing hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. “All right, all right. You two don’t even know each other, so why are you arguing over me?” Then she gave me a plaintive look and said, “Why don’t you keep me company a little longer? I can send you back later.”

I knew Hua Jingjing had been stirred by the little witch and did not want to lose face before her, making others think her boyfriend did not care about her.

But I’m not your boyfriend! Why should I be the one protecting you?

Seeing the hopeful look in Hua Jingjing’s eyes, I knew that if I admitted in front of her that I was not her boyfriend, she would surely be embarrassed, upset, and hurt. I was truly in a difficult position. On one side, the little witch was deliberately making things hard for me, pretending not to know me. On the other, Hua Jingjing, for reasons of pride and selfishness, refused to admit in front of others that I was not her boyfriend. And I, the only one who knew the full truth, was caught in the middle, unable to move either way.

If I threw caution aside and told the truth outright, Hua Jingjing would inevitably be mortified and saddened. The little witch, even more likely, would grow furious out of shame and do something even more unreasonable. What had been a happy reunion after a long separation would end in an unpleasant mess. But if I said nothing, the feeling of being trapped in the middle was no pleasant matter either. Honestly, what was the point of doing this? Why lie and hide from each other the moment they met? Was it really necessary?

Thinking that it was better to avoid trouble, I sighed and said to Hua Jingjing, “All right, but not for too long. I still have to go home.”

Hua Jingjing beamed at once. Excitedly, she came over and hooked her arm through mine, then said triumphantly to Xu Xin, “Then let’s all go together. We’ll find a quiet tea house, and it’s on me.”

The little witch’s murderous gaze shot toward me again. I pretended not to notice and thought, Fine, from now on I’ll have less to do with you. If you want to misunderstand, then misunderstand. If you want to deceive each other, go right ahead. I won’t expose you, and we’ll see how long you can keep this up.

Hua Jingjing found her Ferrari, opened the door, and got in. I followed closely and climbed in after her. The little witch walked over and said, “Move over, move over. I want to ride in this car too. I’m sitting in the middle.”

I frowned. “Don’t you have your own car? This one only seats two comfortably. Three people is too cramped.”

The little witch paid no attention at all. She simply lifted a leg and crawled over me, smiling at Hua Jingjing. “Sis Jingjing, let me squeeze in with you. Riding in the same car as those two bodyguards is so dull.”

Hua Jingjing said, “All right. But three people is a bit cramped. Why don’t you let Tang Qian ride with your bodyguards?”

The little witch clambered over my legs and squeezed herself in. “No need. Crowded together is more fun. Hey, Mr. Tang, with a beauty like me squeezed beside you for you to enjoy a little accidental touching, you surely won’t mind, will you?”

I gave a wry smile. “I’d better go sit with the bodyguards.”

With that, I opened the door and was about to get out. But the little witch secretly tugged at my sleeve to stop me, while silently mouthing, “If you dare leave, I’ll turn hostile!”

I knew she was deliberately trying to toy with me. But did she really think I was afraid of her exposing me? I wasn’t truly Hua Jingjing’s boyfriend, after all. Go ahead and turn hostile. Better yet, tell the truth yourself. There’d be no need for me to be stuck in the middle and unable to act.

I smiled provocatively and ignored her, stepping out of the car and walking toward the two men in black.

The two black-suited men were standing beside a Mercedes, watching us. I walked over and greeted them with a smile. “Hey, guys, let me squeeze into your car. That one’s too small, and it’s not very convenient for a grown man to be packed in with women.”

The two men in black were solemn-faced and unsmiling. They only reached out to open the door for me, making a polite gesture. I ducked into the back seat.

Then Hua Jingjing and Xu Xin got out of the Ferrari on the other side and walked toward us. Xu Xin said to the black-suited bodyguards, “You two drive that car and follow us. The three of us will ride in this one.”

Hua Jingjing smiled as she handed the car key to one of them. He had the rigid bearing of a soldier, accepting it without question or hesitation, and then handed the Mercedes key to Hua Jingjing.

Watching them get into the car, I asked Hua Jingjing in confusion, “What’s going on? Why change cars when everything was fine?”

Hua Jingjing smiled. “I don’t know either. Little Xin said her bodyguards have bad tempers, and she was afraid that if you exchanged a few words with them, you might end up getting beaten. So she suggested the three of us ride together instead. Hey, Xiaoxin, I don’t see how fierce those two bodyguards of yours are. Isn’t that a bit exaggerated?”

Xu Xin settled into the car and said with mock seriousness, “It’s true! You can’t tell from the outside. Your boyfriend has such a nasty temper that he might provoke them in just two or three sentences, and with a casual slap they could put him in bed for ten days or half a month.”

I was utterly defeated by the little witch. This, too, she could make up? Wasn’t that pure nonsense? Why on earth would I go provoke her bodyguards?

Having achieved her purpose, the little witch no longer cared what means she used. A flimsy excuse like this was something only Hua Jingjing would believe. She took advantage of the moment when Hua Jingjing lowered her head to fasten her seat belt, turned around, and made a face at me, mouthing, “Now you’re helpless, right? Brother Tang Qian!”

I knew the little witch had insisted on riding in the same car with me for a reason, and sure enough, once the car started moving she pulled out her phone and began dialing.

“Hello! Sis! Guess who I ran into? Haha, you can’t guess, can you? Let me tell you, I ran into Sis Jingjing... Yes! And another person too—guess who? ... Wrong! It’s Sis Jingjing’s boyfriend, Tang Qian! Yes, her boyfriend! We’re out on the street right now. Do you want to come join us?”

Watching the little witch’s gleeful, mischievous face, I finally understood what she intended to do. I groaned inwardly and thought, This... this demon woman is determined to stir up trouble wherever she goes. If I’d known, I should have insisted on leaving just now. Now it’s a complete mess.

I’ve told Xu Shu that Hua Jingjing wasn’t my girlfriend. Hua Jingjing has admitted in front of Xu Shu that I was her boyfriend. The little witch thinks Hua Jingjing is my girlfriend. She also knows I have another girlfriend. Xu Shu knows it too, and perhaps even Hua Jingjing knows. It’s just that none of them know that the others also know...

Heavens. I... I really have a headache.

It’s not that I’m afraid the truth will one day be exposed to the world. After all, I’ve told the truth to everyone, and I’ve never deceived anyone. But things are just so strange. Somehow, this absurdly tangled situation has come to be. If I were to explain it, how many words would that take? More importantly, it would involve everyone’s private matters—such as my not wanting Hua Jingjing to know that Xu Shu and I had once met, Hua Jingjing not wanting others to know that I had been pretending to be her boyfriend, the little witch perhaps not wanting others to know that I had once struck her four times with a belt, and Xu Shu perhaps not wanting others to know that I had carried her to the hospital...

Just as my head was splitting open, Hua Jingjing snatched the phone away and said excitedly, “Hello! Xiaoshu, it’s me! Yes, yes... I heard you just got back from America? How did it go? Did everything go smoothly?... Really? That’s wonderful... Yes, the very same person I brought with me on your birthday... The one called Tang Qian... Right now? You’re free? Then that’s great—we’ll come right over! All right! Goodbye!”

Once again I let out a groan, shouting inwardly, My God, the jam is going to spill over!