Chapter Sixty: Raising the Price

Regarding whether or not he should represent the town in the Paso City competition, Qiu Fengyu hadn't given it much thought yet. The grand celebration was held at Breaking's bar.

“To the champion.”

Everyone raised their glasses high, clinking them together, then drank their beer in great gulps.

“…Fifty-one, fifty-two, fifty-three—oh, you’re the best!” someone shouted wildly, as a crowd gathered around a spot where Davis was performing his drinking feat.

He gulped down the beer, then used several straws to suck at once. This guy set a new record, finishing the beer in the barrel in just fifty-three seconds, beating last year’s time of sixty-one seconds by several seconds.

“I’m the best!” Davis clenched his fists and roared, then pulled up his shirt to reveal his lean, muscular torso, shouting loudly at the crowd.

After his defeat in the bull-riding contest, he desperately needed a victory to redeem himself; drinking was his way of regaining some pride.

Tim had been kicked back home by Qiu Fengyu; he was still staying at Britt’s house these days.

“This is what Davis is really good at,” Alyssa said to Qiu Fengyu, who was sitting beside her, smiling. “You did it. Congratulations on winning the championship. You can represent Abilene in the Paso City competition now.”

Qiu Fengyu shrugged. “I’d like to go, but… I know this is already my limit. If I can’t win the championship, what’s the point in going?”

“Our best record in Paso City is six point seven three seconds. If you beat that, you’ve succeeded. As for winning the championship… that takes luck and skill. Do you think you can do it?”

“I don’t know. I don’t have much skill, so let’s hope God gives me some luck!”

“Do you believe in God?”

“No, I believe in luck. Luck is God!” Qiu Fengyu chuckled, raising his glass. “A toast to luck!”

“To luck!” Alyssa giggled, raising her glass as well.

After finishing their drinks, Alyssa suggested, “Shall we go for a walk?”

With nothing better to do, Qiu Fengyu nodded, and the two of them left the bar, heading down a quiet road in town.

“You're really impressive,” Alyssa said to him after they’d walked a while.

“If you mean bull riding, you saw it—I really am the champion now. I’m impressive!” Qiu Fengyu boasted, patting the belt around his waist. “I’m a Texas cowboy now—a pretty good one, too.”

“Aha—that’s true, you really are a great cowboy now,” Alyssa laughed dramatically. “But… can you tell me why you’re so good?”

“At bull riding? Because I work really hard, and Britt helped…”

“No, no, I don’t mean that… In many ways: noodles, butchering cattle, kung fu”—Alyssa smiled—“and sweet and sour ribs—Nicole said she almost bit her own tongue off—”

Qiu Fengyu paused, then smiled at Alyssa. “Why are you the only one in town who could get into Los Angeles University? And… why are you the most beautiful girl in town…”

He had to admit, he had a way with women. Back in Ukraine, this was exactly how you picked up girls.

“There’s always a reason for everything. If you want to understand why, why not ask God why He made you so beautiful and smart?”

“Haha—you really know how to talk,” Alyssa laughed. “Why are you so popular with girls?”

“God knows. Alright, enough with the whys—that’s making things difficult for God,” Qiu Fengyu joked. “Let me walk you home. You know Kevin cares a lot about you—he’s a tough one to deal with.”

“Alright… does this count as a date?” Alyssa clasped her hands behind her back and skipped backward, facing Qiu Fengyu.

“Is that your way of confessing to me? Why not just say ‘I love you’?”

“Haha—you really do know how to talk. But now’s not the time. Walk me home,” Alyssa laughed.

They walked back together, and when they reached Alyssa’s door, Qiu Fengyu stopped. Alyssa paused as well, looking at him seriously. “Do you plan to stay here as a cowboy forever, or do you want to try your luck in a big city—like Los Angeles?”

“Who can say what the future holds?” Qiu Fengyu nodded to her. “I’m off. Goodbye!” With that, he really did turn and walk away.

To be able to say “I’m off, goodbye” so straightforwardly to a beautiful girl—he must have been quite cool. Qiu Fengyu was exactly that cool now, though he didn’t think much of it. He hadn’t considered pursuing Alyssa here—falling in love in this place? That was a luxury, so being unattached made him carefree.

“What a strange guy!” Alyssa laughed as she watched his retreating figure.

She considered going back to the bar to keep drinking, but changed her mind. Instead, she walked to Silsa’s place. As soon as she opened the door, there was a loud “pop”—a confetti cannon burst over Qiu Fengyu’s head, and colorful paper fluttered down.

“Champion, we’re the champions!”

A group of people rushed out of the room, pumping their fists and shouting at Qiu Fengyu.

It was Britt, Davis, Tim, and Coffin. Even Coffin had come; she clapped for Qiu Fengyu and gave him a thumbs up. They’d come back from the bar to give Qiu Fengyu a private celebration.

So there was another round of heavy drinking, with Davis playing the clown as usual—he was clearly in a good mood. After winning money—not just him, but Britt too—everyone was in high spirits.

“Allen Christopher wants me to go to Paso City for the competition,” Qiu Fengyu told them.

“I think you should go,” Coffin nodded. “It’s been a long time since anyone from town did well in Paso City.”

Even Britt nodded. “If it were me, I’d go. It’s a chance to show what you can do.”

“Am I representing the town?”

“Aha—not exactly. Anyone can sign up, but you get to enter directly. It’s a special case—every small-town champion can join the Paso City competition directly,” Britt laughed. “Barney will sign up too. He did well today.”

“Barney? Oh, the guy who held on for seven point one seconds?”

“That’s him. He’s pretty good—he was aiming for the championship, but… you arrived in town just a bit too early,” Britt laughed. “But never mind him—you’re the real hero.”

“To the hero!” Davis, ever the showman, raised his glass and shouted.

That night, Qiu Fengyu drank heavily, and by the next morning, he was groggy and the place was a mess. He skipped his run, tidied up a bit, made himself a bowl of noodles, and was about to go back to sleep when Tim, having finished his training, came to wake him around ten.

“We should get going,” Tim called.

It was time to get the noodle shop ready for business.

Qiu Fengyu got up, splashed some water on his face, and headed out with Tim. Soon after they arrived, Davis showed up too, shaking his head as if he hadn’t shaken off his hangover.

“I feel like I’ve become a two-headed monster,” Davis muttered, shaking his head again.

“Get to work, Harry,” Qiu Fengyu replied, not in the mood for his nonsense.

After a while, customers began trickling in. Davis went to greet them, then walked back into the kitchen with an odd look on his face.

“Boss, they’re Japanese—three bowls of noodles!” Davis looked perplexed.

“Japanese? Two-headed Japanese?” Qiu Fengyu joked, using Davis’s phrase. “Judging by your face, were you scared or did they harass you?”

“No, not that. They want to take a photo with you!”

“Why not? I’m the champion now—I should have some star power.” Qiu Fengyu grinned. He didn’t mind the Japanese, as long as they didn’t do anything annoying or cause him trouble. “You did tell them the price, right?”

“What price?” Davis was puzzled.

“Group photo—twenty dollars a head. Solo photo—fifty dollars each,” Qiu Fengyu said solemnly. “Buddy, think long term. I’m the champion now. If I win in Paso City, the price is going up.”