NOVEL NEXT vol. 1 chapter 10 - “But Shen Liu’s gaze was different”
Chapter 10 – “But Shen Liu’s gaze was different”
At the same time, Zhao Jinchuan, still wearing his pyjamas, walked out from the inner room. He sat on the sofa with a sunken expression and asked, “What’s going on?”
The man in a dark coloured suit stood stiffly, looking clearly nervous, “Around evening, Baldy took three of his men to the Hyatt…”
“Is this story time?” Zhao Jinchuan held a cigar between two of his fingers and let his secretary, Huang Jing, light it. He raised his eyebrows and snapped, “Cut the fluff and get to the point!”
“…Yes.” Anxiously, he started to speak faster, “At first, things went smoothly. The lawyer got scared and promised not to cause any more trouble. But just when Baldy was about to cut off his finger, police sirens suddenly started going off. They all had previous history with the police, so there was no choice but to pull back. It was only later, when they pulled the surveillance, did they realise they were played. There were never any police. Six men carried the lawyer off in a car with fake plates.”
Zhao Jinchuan drew on his cigar, “Was the finger cut off?”
“… didn’t get a chance.”
“Who ambushed them?”
“For now… not sure.” He tensed his back, “We got an ‘insider’ to pull the area’s surveillance. The car stopped at an abandoned warehouse in the southern outskirts for a little while and then headed southwest. They might have swapped plates - we lost them after.”
“The job’s a failure. The man got away. And you can’t even figure out who fucked you over.” Zhao Jinchuan narrowed his eyes and said, “So you came all the way in the middle of the night just to tell me you’re a bunch of useless pieces of shit?”
The man broke out in a cold sweat all over his back, lowered his head and didn’t dare make a sound.
Through the smoke, Zhao Jinchuan’s face appeared as one upon an inscrutable deity that sat in the main temple hall. He spoke without much care, “My order was that he would leave behind his pinkie finger. If his can’t be cut off, then yours would have to do.”
As soon as he finished speaking, two men immediately stepped forward and grabbed onto the man’s arms. The very skin upon his head went numb, his knees buckled, his face went white. He begged: “Young Master Chuan… Please give me another chance. Just one day. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will definitely give you an answer.”
Zhao Jinchuan twisted the corners of his mouth into a smile, “You’ve worked under me for a while now. I thought you were a reliable sort and gave you a chance at handling a few things. But now what? Is this a hard job?” He stretched out his pinkie and waved it around a little, “One measly lawyer, one measly finger. I could’ve grabbed any small-time punk off the streets, and they could’ve done it for me. But you manage to botch it? I pay you, I protect you, and now I have to clean up after your shit – am I some kind of sucker to you?” His face darkened with anger, and he said coldly, “Cut it!”
Upon the command, the two bodyguards moved. One grabbed his wrist and pinned it to the ground. The other swiftly drew out a knife. A cold glint of steel and a piercing, agonised scream rang out. And like so, a finger had been cut. Some flesh still clung to the base, and with another horizontal slice of the blade, it was divided cleanly in two.
Pain shot through his body. The man rolled around on the floor, convulsing and screaming as he held onto his wound.
Zhao Jinchuan lifted his chin, lazily, “I’m giving you another chance. By the time I wake up, if you have the information I need, I’ll let it all slide. But if you’re still this clueless mess, you can say goodbye to your right hand.”
The subordinate was already pale as a ghost, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, his lips were trembling as he said, “Yes.”
Zhao Jinchuan tossed his unfinished cigar into the ashtray Huang Jing held out for him. Got up and returned to the bedroom. Huang Jing dutifully closed the door behind him, carefully muffling the sound within of women laughing and gasping, and then walked back. Seeing the man’s finger was still bleeding, he frowned, saying, “Get that sorted out at the hospital.” Then turned towards the few people who stood to the side, “You all know the kind of temper the person inside has. The incident today is highly suspicious. No matter what it takes, you must find a full explanation. Finger cut, hand cut, it’s over for this guy now. Next time, it could be any one of you. Pull yourselves together and get to the bottom of this, fast. Stop stabbing each other’s backs, and don’t laugh as if this couldn’t be you. Why did that car stop in the southern outskirts, why did it disappear after that, whose territory is the south – you should all carefully think this over.”
The men hurried to agree and quickly left.
The small reception room cleared out. Huang Jing pushed open the window. A rush of fresh air, carrying a cold dampness, poured in and drove the smoke from the room.
*
Qin Mu awoke in a shroud of dim light. Last night, he lay restless for a long time before he could fall asleep. Somehow, his mind had flipped open the “divergent thinking” switch, throwing him from one weird dream into another even weirder dream. Tossing and turning an entire night, he felt entirely in a haze.
It was raining outside; there was the sound of soft pattering against the glass windows. It rained often in K city, like a lovelorn woman who could never stop her sorrowful weeping, soaking everyone through with wetness, letting mushrooms grow on their heads. Only half-awake and lulled by the sound of a familiar rain, he stared at the ceiling for a long time before realising - this was not his home.
The alarm he set on his phone for 7:30 had been cancelled by some meddling bastard. It was now nearly 9:30. There were quite a few clothes in the wardrobe, all seemingly belonging to Shen Liu. Qin Mu chose a loose grey sweater to wear, got ready and then walked out. In the second-floor dining room, he found the master of the house watching TV and chewing on a pineapple bun.
The wall-mounted TV was playing a talent show. A group of altruistically attired young women were dancing, the screen brimming with vivacious curves and ivory thighs.
“Morning.” It was like Shen Liu had eyes on the back of his head, he knew he was there without turning around, “Sleep well last night?”
“Quite well.” Qin Mu sat down at the round table, keeping the distance of a chair between them. A servant came in and served a Cantonese breakfast. Plump shrimps wrapped in translucent skins, releasing a mouthful of juice with every bite, taste just as good as any high-end restaurant. He ate three in a row, and when he was about to eat his fourth, he noticed the person beside him was staring at him. He raised his eyes, “Is this being billed?”
Shen Liu laughed, “No, no.”
“Then kindly focus on watching the TV. Your staring at me is messing with my digestion.”
“Such self-obsession.” Shen Liu rested his chin on his hand, watched him, and then said leisurely, “Clearly, I’m looking at the prawn dumpling. Attorney Qin, is it illegal to look at prawn dumplings?”
Qin Mu knew all too well the ways of the man before him. He could spin a thousand ‘legitimate reasons’ without blinking, and so he just let him do as he pleased, lowered his head and ate his own food. He wasn’t too bothered by the gazes of others. In actuality, whether it was during courtroom debates or during private sessions of ‘pleasure’ interests, he was used to commanding the gaze of others and enjoyed the feeling of being the centre of their attention.
But Shen Liu’s gaze was different.
It was more flamboyant, more intense, and carried an inescapable invasiveness. Like a lion that had come from afar, barging without care into his territory, flashing its teeth as a show of force, testing his patience.
Under that gaze, Qin Mu felt unsettled all over. Unable to bear it any longer, he set his chopsticks down in annoyance. But the man considerately slid a bowl of ginger milk pudding over, “Have a taste. I got this made especially for you. The chef’s skills are truly exceptional.”
The chopsticks had just hit the table, Qin Mu hadn’t even had a chance to throw him a look, “…” He hesitated for half a second between storming off and continuing to eat, and then picked up the spoon.
He was still hungry, and it indeed tasted quite nice.
Having successfully fed him, Shen Liu watched him enjoying the food, and couldn’t help getting a bowl himself. Tasting it slowly, he tried to make conversation, “What do you do in your free time?”
“Reading, gym, gaming.”
“What kind of games?” Shen Liu was intrigued, “PUBG? Honour of Kings? Or…”
“Match three.”
Shen Liu: “…”
Feeling a clear sense of discrimination, Qin Mu raised his eyes and said, “What?”
“Nothing. Very healthy habits, full of optimism and positivity, truly a model youth of our modern era.” Brimming with insincerity, Shen Liu gave a thumbs-up.
Qin Mu returned the heavy dose of sarcasm with equal weight, “I’m no match for the energy of your idol fanboying. The body may grow old, but the heart does not. Truly touching.”
“The love of beauty is universal. A youthful body is like a just ripened fruit upon the treetop - lustrous, plump, full of vitality, and at its most tempting.” Shen Liu deepened his smile and spoke, “All I did was take a few extra glances. I had no intention of plucking it off the branch and playing with it. Don’t worry.”
The two words that hung at the end of the sentence brushed gently like the fluffy end of a cat’s tail upon his body, teasing an elusive, tingling sensation. If he took it seriously and made a fuss over it, he would appear to be overreacting.
So he pretended to be deaf. Without distraction, Qin Mu finished the last of the milk pudding. Then, setting down the spoon, he asked, “Where is my luggage?”
“What do you need? I’ll have someone get it for you.”
Qin Mu looked at him with a straight face.
“I had people check your room yesterday. They didn’t find it.” He had a face full of sincerity.
Qin Mu lowered his eyes and said, “There is no need for you and me to go around in circles. You know why I am here, and know what I must do.”
He had already mulled over the whole chain of events. If Shen Liu had not received news beforehand, even if the Shen Family had an all-reaching influence, it was near impossible for Shen Liu to swoop in like a miracle at the last minute to save him, let alone orchestrate a perfect disappearing act. Chu Yu must have feared that Golden Eagle, being mostly in J City, was not enough to protect him, and so summoned the ‘local kingpin’, Shen Liu. And once Shen Liu received news, he would’ve uncovered the whole story.
“No matter why you came, it all ends here.” The smile that played at the corners of Shen Liu’s lips disappeared altogether, revealing a rare seriousness. “The Zhaos are not something you can topple over by sheer passion. You can’t win this case.”
Qin Mu said calmly, “The trial hasn’t begun yet. Isn’t it a bit early to jump to conclusions?”
“Trying to stop a freight train with your bare hands won’t come to any good.” The spoon in Shen Liu’s hands circled the bowl, his dark brown eyes quietly fixed on Qin Mu’s face, “Do you know why a lion is powerless against hyenas? Because hyenas gather in packs, they overwhelm you and make it impossible to defend against. They follow no rules, have no sense of fairness. They will, for the sake of a single piece of rotten meat, abandon all decency and dignity, and shamelessly use any underhanded tactic to harass you. These people are the same. The courtroom is not their battlefield. Winning the case isn’t their objective. What they want is to fix the problem, or rather, the people who are causing the problem. The law means nothing to them. Money, power – these are all far more meaningful.”
“To remain silent in the face of evil is to condone it.” Qin Mu continued calmly, “The reason the law is able to defend justice is because there are people who defend its authority in return. Even if their hand covers the very sky, someone has to light the first lamp in the darkness…”
“Whoever wants to light it, light it – you, no.” Shen Liu’s patience was spent, and he cut him off discourteously. The man usually wore a lazy smile upon his face, which made him seem quite approachable. But as soon as his face dropped, his entire demeanour emanated a sharp and icy oppressiveness, like an AC that ran on the coldest dial, sending shivers down anyone who looked upon him. It had been a long time since he had tried to patiently and earnestly persuade someone, yet ironically, the other person refused to take in a single word. His sincerity all fed to the dogs, Shen-the-Gentlemen was abandoned – if words weren’t going to work, then force would. He spoke with a gangster-like brazenness, “Your luggage is going nowhere. You are also going nowhere. My territory. My rules.”
Qin Mu remained silent for a moment before saying, “I know you have good intentions, and I’m grateful that you saved me. Before I came here, I had already considered the worst possible outcome. There will always come a time in life when one cannot back down. Even if the desired outcome cannot be obtained, I only ask that I can do right by my conscience.” He raised his eyes to him, “You belong to the Shen Family. This is a sensitive time. It is not wise for you to get pulled in. I have contacted my friends in J City. I will be careful from here on out. You do not need to worry.”
“You sure know how to be considerate of my circumstances.” Shen Liu was so angry he laughed, “You want me to stand by and watch you send yourself off to the guillotine? Do you believe me if I say Professor Xiao is ready to send a bolt of lightning down from heaven to strike you on your thick wooden head*?!”
“Shen Liu…”
“There’s nothing else to say.” Shen Liu stood up, “From this moment on, this case has nothing to do with you. Until everything quiets down, you will keep your head low and stay here. Of course, you can try and see if you can get out of here. My personal advice is ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) – don’t try it.”
Qin Mu grabbed the man’s wrist, frowned and said, “I am not joking around with you…”
“Nor am I joking around with you.” Shen Liu leaned down, looming over him with an imposing presence. His hand rested on the back of Qin Mu’s chair. He deliberately softened his voice and spoke like a suggestive, intimate whisper, “Misbehave, and you’ll get tied up and spanked. Be good for me, hm?”
************
Translator’s note:
1. This is the first instance of wordplay with Qin Mu’s name as a homonym in the novel. The Mu of Qin Mu’s name is a homonym with the word “wood” in Chinese, so Qin Mu has a lot of nicknames to do with wood in this story, chief among them “little wood”.