Chapter Ninety-One: Horseplay

I was just about to stop Hua Jingjing from going on, but the secret she was about to tell had aroused my interest beyond measure. My curiosity... alas, my curiosity... So I merely opened my mouth, and at last conscience was crushed beneath shameless curiosity without a single sound escaping me. Hua Jingjing was lost in a warm recollection of the past, a faint smile lingering at the corners of her lips. She said, "We really were so close back then! Unlike now, when we've grown up and each have our own careers, we've drifted so much farther apart than before. Back then, what secrets could she and I possibly have had from each other? Whatever was going through her little head, how could I not know? Likewise, all my own disgraceful little secrets were shared with her too. Once, for instance, we teamed up to play a prank on a teacher. Heh, we scared that teacher so badly he didn't dare sleep for three days. It nearly made us die laughing. Oh, that doesn't matter. Let's talk about our first kiss then. Tang Qian, this is a girl's most private matter. If I tell you and you dare laugh at me, I'll die for it!"

I said amusedly, "Surely not that serious?"

Hua Jingjing sniffed. "Anyway, you are not allowed to laugh at me."

"All right," I said. "I absolutely won't laugh."

With a little giggle, Hua Jingjing laughed first instead. "I can't tell this story while driving. I'm afraid something will happen. When we get to your building, I'll park and then tell you. We're almost there anyway."

This Hua Jingjing really knew how to hook a person's appetite. I could only shake my head with a bitter smile, itching inside like a cat had clawed at me.

I was truly vexed. The goddess in my heart, how could her first kiss have been stolen by Hua Jingjing? If it had been me, how wonderful that would have been... Hmm, no, no, stop these wild thoughts.

Five minutes later, the Ferrari drove into my housing compound and stopped downstairs. Hua Jingjing shut off the engine and then turned off the cabin light. She turned toward me and said softly, "Tang Qian, I'm about to reveal the secret in my heart to you. I'm very shy, so I need you to hold me while I whisper it into your ear, all right?"

At last I understood. So all that hesitation, all that half-willing, half-unwilling refusal to speak plainly, insisting on waiting until the car was parked, had all been a ploy to get me to do this. That I could never agree to.

Though I truly wanted to hear it, I could not abandon my principles. If I embraced Hua Jingjing just to pry some old story out of Xu Shu, then I would truly be despicable and shameless.

I smiled. "Jingjing, it's very late already. Thanks for bringing me home. You should go back and rest early too. We'll contact each other another day. Goodbye."

With that, I opened the door and got out.

Hua Jingjing panicked and cried, "Hey! You don't want to hear my private secret anymore? Come back, and I'll tell you!"

I turned back and said, "Jingjing, some private matters are better left to rot in the belly. Especially those shameful things—if one fewer person knows, there is one less worry. What if after hearing it I go and tell someone else? Isn't that right? All right. I'm going upstairs."

With that, I shut the car door and walked away without looking back.

Behind me came Hua Jingjing's furious shout: "Tang Qian, I hate you!"

I felt secretly delighted, thinking, how strangely familiar that line sounded. Didn't you already hate me to the bone?

After I got home, I lit a cigarette and sat thinking whether I should go back to Xu Shu's villa and explain everything to her. Then I thought of the little devil's frightening final act. She... she was only a child, could it be that...?

I shook my head, finding it unbelievable.

Just then my phone rang. I took it out and looked at the number. It seemed familiar, yet I could not remember whose it was, so I pressed answer. Xu Shu's voice came through. "Tang Qian, are you home?"

"How did you know?"

"Of course I know. I sent a car to follow you. Come down. Take the Mercedes parked downstairs and come over. My sister refuses to say a word even if she dies. You come and tell me what this is all about. You wouldn't really have done something to my sister, would you... never mind, we'll talk when you get back."

I broke into a cold sweat. "Why don't I just tell you over the phone? Running back and forth is such a waste of time."

"No! If you tell me on the phone, how can I see your expression? How would I know whether you're lying? What exactly are you and my sister up to? All mysterious and secretive like this. Hurry up and come over, or else I..."

"Or else what?"

"I don't know! I'll think of it later. Are you coming or not?"

I sighed. "Fine. I'll come right away."

When I got downstairs, sure enough, there was a Mercedes parked there. As soon as I approached, the door opened. After I got in, the black-suited bodyguard driver immediately started the car and drove toward Xu Shu's villa. The driver said nothing, and the whole way there was no conversation. Soon we had arrived again at Xu Shu's home. I got out and went inside, but no one came to greet me.

After a brief hesitation, I went straight upstairs. When I reached the second floor, I saw a maid coming down from the third and asking, "Mr. Tang? Please come with me. The eldest young lady is waiting for you."

I nodded and followed her up to the third floor. She opened a door and said to me, "Mr. Tang, please come in."

Just as I was about to enter, I heard a scream from inside. Then the little devil burst out wearing pajamas and slippers, running for her life. When she saw me, she cried out joyfully, "Brother Tang Qian, Brother Tang Qian, save me! My sister is going to beat me!"

Then Xu Shu's voice came from inside. "Still running? You little wretch, come here!"

No sooner had the words fallen than Xu Shu, also in pajamas and slippers, came chasing after her from inside, pouncing viciously at the little devil. The little devil screamed again and suddenly slipped behind me, calling, "Brother Tang Qian, save me quick! My sister is trying to kill me."

I was baffled. "Hey! You two are real sisters—what on earth are you doing?"

Xu Shu did not answer. She went around behind me, preparing to seize her younger sister. Unexpectedly, Xu Xin was slippery as an eel and darted back in front of me. The two sisters chased and dodged around me for two full circles, yet Xu Shu still failed to catch Xu Xin. Xu Shu lost her temper and said to me, "Tang Qian, get out of the way! I have to teach her a lesson! She's gone too far!"

Seeing Xu Shu's fierce expression, I instinctively spread my arms to shield Xu Xin. "If you're sisters, why can't you just talk properly? Why do you have to start hitting each other?"

Behind me, the little devil giggled. "Brother Tang Qian, you don't know. I was flattering my sister just now, but I accidentally flattered her where it hurt. I said..."

Xu Shu's face immediately flushed. She shouted, "Shut up! Say another word and I'll beat you to death!"

Confident in my protection, the little devil ignored her sister's threat and continued, "I praised my sister's backside for being big and round, so tempting that even Brother Tang Qian would want to bite it. When she heard that, she got so embarrassed and furious she insisted on murdering me to silence me. Hahaha... Help!"

Xu Shu cried out in shame and rage. Clenching her teeth, she bent low and slipped under my outstretched arms, lunging at the little devil. "You little brat, let's see if I don't tear your mouth to pieces!"

Xu Xin laughed and fled back into the room.

Xu Shu was truly enraged now. No longer caring about any lady-like image, she kicked off her slippers in front of me and chased after Xu Xin. I followed inside and discovered that this was actually a bedroom, with a huge luxurious bed in the center. The little devil had nowhere left to run, so she only laughed and jumped onto the bed. Xu Shu leaped up after her, and amid the little devil's screams, threw herself on top of her and pinned her down.

Then Xu Shu unleashed her secret weapon: both hands went straight under the little devil's armpits, and she began tickling her mercilessly.

"Hahahaha... help! Hahaha... Brother Tang Qian, I won't do it anymore, I won't do it anymore, hahaha, I'm being tickled to death!"

The little devil immediately burst into hysterical laughter and curled into a ball, her whole body writhing until she was no longer human-shaped at all. Watching these two live treasures making a scene without the slightest restraint in front of me, I truly did not know whether to laugh or cry. They really did not treat me like an outsider at all.

I shook my head and coughed hard, reminding them that there was still a guest here. At the very least, shouldn't they come over and greet me?

Sure enough, Xu Shu immediately came to her senses. She turned and glanced at me, panic on her face, and hurriedly climbed down from the bed. Barefoot, she walked up to me, her face red, hastily tidying her disheveled long hair, and apologized, "I'm terribly sorry. My sister is too hateful, and I got so angry I lost my head. Mr. Tang, please don't laugh at me. Oh, right. Please sit down, Mr. Tang. I'll go get you a glass of water."

Too ashamed to even look at me, Xu Shu hurried to the door, slipped her slippers back on, and fled as if running away.

The little devil on the bed finally recovered enough to flip over and lie on her stomach. She beckoned to me and said, "Brother Tang Qian, come here. I have something to tell you."

I asked, "What is it?"

The little devil said, "Come here! I have no strength left, I can't get up!"

So I had no choice but to walk to the bedside and ask again, "What's wrong?"

In a feeble voice, the little devil said, "Whatever my sister asks you later, please, absolutely don't tell her the truth, or I'll be doomed!"

I said, "That won't do. Your sister has already guessed it anyway. The injuries on you were all caused by me. Who told you about that bad habit of talking in your sleep? You spilled the beans yourself—how am I supposed to help you lie?"

The little devil suddenly understood. She bumped her head against the soft mattress a few times and quickly said, "No wonder she discovered the injuries on me and even asked whether they had anything to do with you. I still insisted they didn't! I'm finished, I'm finished!"

Looking dejected, she suddenly remembered something and quickly looked up again. "Since that's the case, I'll confess stubbornly. But what I just told you in the sitting room, even if you beat me to death, you absolutely cannot tell her. Do you understand?"

I was just about to respond when a cold snort came from outside the door, and someone asked, "What is it that absolutely cannot be told to me?"