FY - 19

Fangma Casino, a legitimate casino in Qizhou.

Just like Macau, a city built on gambling, or Ruili, a sacred place for jade gambling. In a mixed city like Qizhou, where prostitution and drug dealing were once openly transparent, casinos flaunting their doors wide open were not uncommon.

Si Wen stepped out of the car, dressed in a white deep V cupro silk top, grey cropped trousers, black distressed leather shoes, and holding an Italian pure handmade luxury scepter with a golden, diamond-studded eagle head handle.

He rarely dressed like this; it was too unconventional. He considered himself a relatively proper person.

His bodyguards stood a meter behind him, legs spread, standing rigidly.

The casino’s high signboard was embedded with LEDs, casting bizarre lights on these people, yet it only confirmed their excellent professionalism—motionless, expressionless.

Si Wen walked inside, his scepter clashing with his footsteps, subtly exuding a terrifying aura.

The chip runner had been waiting for a long time. Upon seeing Si Wen, he immediately bowed and greeted him obsequiously: “Mr. Si! You’re finally here!”

Si Wen, as he understood himself, was too conventional, so he could maintain a calm demeanor towards anyone, showing no joy or sorrow, and revealing nothing of his thoughts. His gaze swept over the face of the person in front of him.

He walked towards the largest gambling table in the hall.

His subordinates exchanged chips for him, a hundred and twenty thousand.

The female cowboy dealer’s eyes lit up when she saw Si Wen. She could instantly discern souls of wealth and nobility.

A new gambling game began. Some gamblers, who had lost everything down to their underwear, walked out the door with pale faces, as if their souls had been snatched. Others, encouraged by the house, had borrowed money from the casino and sat back down at the table.

Si Wen sat down, facing the seasoned blackjack dealer. He was probably the only person in this gambling session who remained composed. His casualness even caught the attention of the duty manager.

The second card was dealt at the gambling table. Si Wen got blackjack, and the dealer paid out 1.5 times the bet, causing an uproar throughout the room.

The crowd watching this gambling session grew, easily attracting gamblers from the private rooms upstairs.

Zhao Youjin rested her arm on the railing of the third floor, looking at the handsome figure in the lobby downstairs. She took a puff of her lady’s cigarette, exhaled, and let her eyes drift down through the smoke to his deep V neckline, asking the person beside her: “Who is that?”

“You don’t even know him? And you’ve worked in the pharmaceutical industry in Qizhou for so many years.”

Zhao Youjin didn’t know many people. In business, she didn’t need to remember who was who. As long as she had a chest that cost over six hundred thousand to enhance, there was no deal she couldn’t close. It came naturally, without exception.

“That’s Si Wen, the boss of Dongsheng Pharmaceutical.”

So that was Si Wen. Zhao Youjin finished the last bit of her cigarette, a slow smile spreading across her lips.

“He’s extremely restrained and has never left any weakness in anyone’s hands, except for having kept a mistress. But this mistress is also very disciplined, watertight; it’s truly difficult to control Si Wen through her.”

Zhao Youjin’s eyes were fixed on Si Wen. From this angle, looking at that face, she suddenly felt a perverse pleasure.

The person beside her saw through her thoughts: “Don’t even think about it; he can kill you.”

Zhao Youjin smiled brightly: “If he can’t kill me, then he’s incompetent.”

The person beside her rolled their eyes: “When I say kill you, I don’t mean in bed. Do you know the rumors? How many lives he has on his hands? But have you ever heard of the government or agencies investigating him?”

Zhao Youjin ignored all that. She only cared that this man, at this moment, had caught her attention.

The person beside her was still talking, but Zhao Youjin, swaying with the figure of a thirty-year-old, had already stepped onto the spiral staircase, descending slowly and steadily.

By the time he finished speaking, the person next to him was gone. He looked downstairs and saw her already standing among the crowd.

Si Wen only won the first hand against the dealer; afterwards, he kept losing, already down two hundred thousand. Yet, he remained unperturbed, not even a frown creasing his brow, displaying a gambler’s composure to its critical limit.

At the end of this round, the dealer smiled sweetly at him: “Sir, perhaps you’d like to try the dice.”

Si Wen smiled faintly, using the acting skills Zhou Yan was most proficient at in front of him. Indeed, no one could tell that he wasn’t truly invested.

As he turned, Zhao Youjin stood behind him, holding a glass of white wine in her right hand, her eyes full of allure. Her left hand was gently cupped, resting on her right elbow, her red lips slightly parted: “Mr. Si, I’ve opened a private game upstairs. Would you care to join?”

Si Wen politely declined: “Thank you. I’m just casually playing.”

Zhao Youjin didn’t press, only showing regret: “That’s truly a shame.”

Si Wen nodded slightly, walked past her, and headed to the bar, ordering a glass of plain water. He sat halfway on a high stool, one leg bent, one leg straight, offering Zhao Youjin’s direction a side profile.

He leaned on his scepter, his wrist bones prominent, complementing his distinct metacarpals and long fingers—just two words: deadly.

Zhao Youjin watched him, finishing her white wine, her throat unconsciously swallowing twice.

Damn it! He’s truly a cheat! This man!

Given her status, she couldn’t be too eager. She was about to go upstairs, but as she turned, she saw a waiter pouring a small vial of liquid into Si Wen’s water. This was asking for trouble.

Her steps towards the stairs changed direction, and she pressed down on Si Wen’s wrist as he was lifting the glass. The touch made her instantly wet...

Si Wen looked up at her.

Zhao Youjin’s eyelids lowered as she gazed at the water glass in his hand: “There’s something wrong with this water.”

The waiter who had just handed Si Wen the water immediately turned and ran.

Si Wen frowned and looked over.

His bodyguards, well-trained, rushed forward and apprehended the man.

Zhao Youjin then withdrew her hand.

The manager stepped forward to inquire about the situation, respectfully asking Si Wen: “Mr. Si, has something happened?”

Si Wen never asked others for help with things he could handle himself, and as for things he couldn’t... he hadn’t encountered any yet. He declined the manager’s goodwill, still holding the glass of plain water, and walked out.

His bodyguards, escorting the waiter, followed.

Zhao Youjin didn’t even get a chance to show her face in this scene, and surprisingly, the usually high-profile woman didn’t mind. However, she was still inexplicably drawn to follow them out. She wanted to see how Si Wen would deal with this person.

Upon reaching the alley to the left of the casino, Si Wen shook the water in his hand: “Did you want me unconscious? Or dead?”

The waiter clenched his jaw, not saying a word, his face tightening and turning purple.

Si Wen saw that he had a tough demeanor, lightly tossed his scepter, gripping the handle instead of leaning on it, and swung it in a semicircle, striking the waiter’s chin, sending him sprawling backward, his head hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

Zhao Youjin, hiding by the side door, gasped and covered her mouth as she saw the waiter’s chin bleeding profusely and blood starting to trickle from the back of his head.

So ruthless.

The waiter remained silent. Si Wen lost his patience and handed the glass of water to his bodyguard.

The bodyguard took it and forced the waiter to drink it. The waiter thrashed his legs, struggling, his face contorting into a horrifying shape.

Less than half a minute after the water was poured down, he clutched his throat with both hands, rolling on the ground and letting out a demonic scream. His face, illuminated by the fluorescent streetlights, changed from red to white. This lasted for over a minute before he stopped moving.

The bodyguard kicked his arm; it was limp like a dead man’s. He turned to Si Wen and asked, “Sir, should we investigate the casino?”

Si Wen leaned on his scepter, his gaze casual and lingering: “No need.”

Having said that, he turned and walked towards Zhao Youjin, who had been secretly watching, stopping in front of her: “Seen enough?”

Zhao Youjin showed no sign of being caught in an embarrassing situation, laughing heartily: “Should I tell the truth? Not yet.”

Si Wen was clear about favors and grudges. He told her: “Thank you for speaking up. But eavesdropping is truly unethical and beneath your stature as Qizhou’s pharmaceutical expert, Ms. Zhao.”

Zhao Youjin chuckled twice again, her eyelids slightly narrowing her eyes: “I should have met you sooner.”

She thought Si Wen would say, “It’s not too late now,” but he didn’t. He didn’t even give her any extra expression, just turned and left.

Zhao Youjin was already overflowing below.

The urgent desire to possess this man filled her mind.

________________________________________

Chapter 19

When Si Wen woke up, he was lying on the sofa, covered by a thin blanket.

Zhou Yan returned from taking Zhou Siyuan to tutoring, sitting at the dining table eating an egg pancake, showing no reaction to Si Wen waking up.

Si Wen lifted the blanket, sat up, and walked barefoot to the bathroom.

He had stayed at Zhou Yan’s place before. There was a set of his toiletries on the shelf. He picked up his electric toothbrush; the head was new and his preferred bamboo charcoal nano soft bristle.

After brushing his teeth, he took the darkest colored towel from the towel rack, a Cheshire Mill weave, new, and also what he was accustomed to.

This was how Zhou Yan was; she remembered his every habit and rarely made a mistake.

After tidying up and coming out, Zhou Yan had already fried a hot egg pancake and placed it on his plate, with his favorite sauce beside it.

Si Wen sat down to eat.

Zhou Yan handed him a warmed glass of goat’s milk: “I added sugar.”

Si Wen didn’t like the strong smell of goat’s milk; it had to have sugar, or he wouldn’t drink it. He was quite particular.

The rich milky scent entered Si Wen’s nostrils, and he frowned.

Zhou Yan saw it and took it away. “If you don’t want milk, there’s only water.”

Si Wen looked up: “Drink it.”

Zhou Yan confirmed: “You want me to drink it?”

Si Wen didn’t say a second time.

Zhou Yan took a sip, and before she could swallow, Si Wen pulled her into his embrace with his long arm, sitting her on his lap. Then followed a deep kiss, sucking all the goat’s milk she hadn’t yet swallowed into his own mouth.

“Mmm—” Zhou Yan’s tongue tingled, and her eyes started to blur.

The milky smell in her mouth completely dissipated. Si Wen wasn’t satisfied with just sucking it all up; he scoured her oral cavity, licking everything clean before stopping.

Zhou Yan, seeing that he liked this way of drinking, cleverly took another sip. This time, she didn’t wait for him to suck it, but personally fed it to him.

The milk passed from her mouth to Si Wen’s, carrying her warmth.

Si Wen drank to his satisfaction, his hand gripping her waist, his palm burning hot, searing her flesh through her cotton clothes.

Zhou Yan fed him the entire glass of milk. The last sip was a bit rushed, and milk spilled from the corner of her mouth.

Si Wen extended his tongue and licked the milk stain clean.

Zhou Yan felt a tickle and shrugged her shoulders, trying to pull away.

Si Wen’s hand on her waist tightened, clearly showing his displeasure at her attempt to withdraw. His lips and tongue sucked their way down to her chin, then returned along the same path, finally enclosing her lips and stirring her saliva.

Zhou Yan was kissed until she was breathless, clutching Si Wen’s clothes.

Si Wen was sated, but didn’t let her go. He looked at her swollen lips without speaking.

As Zhou Yan’s breathing evened out, she asked him, “Is it your idea for me to stop taking clients?”

“Why should I answer you?” Si Wen retorted.

So it was.

Zhou Yan didn’t ask for the reason again, and he wouldn’t answer her either.

Si Wen’s eyes shifted from her lips to the piano in the corner. He pulled her away, walked over, lifted the dust cover, raised the keyboard lid, and ran his fingers horizontally across the keys, pressing a few. The tone was good. The piano wasn’t cheap.

Zhou Yan leaned her lower back against the edge of the table, her hands propped behind her on the tabletop. After watching for a while, she got a cigarette and opened the window.

She leaned against the Japanese-style door of the balcony, her feet slightly crossed, the front foot’s toe pointed in Si Wen’s direction. She lit a cigarette, took a puff, and smoke billowed from her nostrils.

She watched Si Wen sitting at the piano intently, his posture elegant and familiar, playing a few bars of ‘What Are Words’.

She hadn’t even known he could play the piano.

Si Wen’s gaze fell on the certificate on the wall, but his fingers weren’t led astray by his eyes, seemingly flirting with the keys with effortless ease.

Zhou Yan finished one cigarette. The smoke, mixed with an inexpressible emotion, permeated the small space, then entered both their lungs with each breath.

Si Wen finally stopped, didn’t say a word about the strange tobacco smell, and left. His expression remained emotionless.

When the door closed, Zhou Yan’s heart sank.

She walked to the piano, sat down, and placed her hands on the keys, but there was no lingering warmth from Si Wen.

________________________________________

Wei Lian had passed on new information about the wanted criminal Fan Chang to the anti-drug squad, but he hadn’t heard anything back.

On the fourth day, he couldn’t wait any longer. After returning from a police operation, he walked up to Zheng Zhi and said, “Let’s investigate!”

Zheng Zhi had just woken up and didn’t immediately understand: “What?”

Wei Lian straightened his police cap: “This afternoon, I’ll access the database and look for someone who used to go by He Yi.”

Zheng Zhi thought he was joking. “You told me not to investigate? You even almost turned on me. Never mind, don’t investigate. Don’t you still have cases to close? I’ll help you with those.”

Wei Lian wasn’t joking with him: “I’ll agree to investigate this drug trafficker case with you, but you must also agree to me: no matter what happens, don’t act rashly. Everything must be under my command.”

Zheng Zhi belatedly realized he was serious, his pupils gradually widening, and a slow smile spreading across his lips, “Are you serious?”

Wei Lian hadn’t thought everything through thoroughly; he just felt that no matter how dirty a job was, someone had to do it.

If you don’t do it, and I don’t do it, can this world last three days without being destroyed?

Zheng Zhi saw the determination in his eyes, just like the first time he met him. At that time, he had just been transferred to the criminal investigation team. Although he seemed to have suffered some severe injury, his gaze was still clear. He never doubted himself and believed in the inherent goodness of human nature.

Wei Lian patted his shoulder: “Since we’ve decided to do it, don’t be so lazy all the time.”

Zheng Zhi stood tall and saluted him: “Understood!”

When they made this decision, they didn’t know it wasn’t a good one.

Zhou Yan prepared dinner for Zhou Siyuan, tidied up the room, did the laundry, and then, around 5 PM, went to work.

Upon entering, Sister Hong walked down from upstairs, her face beaming, and greeted her warmly.

Zhou Yan didn’t understand and didn’t ask. It wasn’t until she reached the changing room and heard other girls talking that she learned Candy had been booked until 7 AM the next morning. The tips alone amounted to 120,000, with Sister Hong taking the lion’s share, of course, overjoyed.

A girl from next door who was going out to entertain came to borrow socks. A few of them gathered and started chatting again.

“This woman, Zhao Youjin, she’s really something. She’s fifty, but she gets injections, plastic surgery, takes medicine, and manages to make herself look like a twenty-something girl. The men around her, from seventy down to fifteen, if they’re not drained dry by her, then they’re lucky.”

“Is it really that exaggerated? How come I heard she has someone backing her? And someone with a backer would dare to seek out so many men? Aren’t they afraid of dying?”

“I’ve heard that too. I always feel like these rumors about her being overly sensual aren’t entirely true.”

“Think about it, if she didn’t have a backer, could she have built her business so big? Could these old gentlemen let a mere woman rise steadily? What do you take them for? Are they happy to do charity?”

After speaking, she cracked a few melon seeds and continued: “We’ve been in this line of work for so long, have we ever seen a businesswoman who doesn’t know how to scheme? For this woman to have such social status, someone must be covering for her.”

“The people who deal with her show respect because of her backing; that’s why she is where she is today.”

“Alright, stop talking nonsense. Are you writing a book? It doesn’t matter why she’s rich and powerful, the undisputed fact is that tonight, she’s booked our Candy, and we all have to be her dogs for a while. I wonder if she’s sick, ignoring the male escorts and wanting to play dice with women instead.”

“I have a feeling tonight’s going to be tough.”

“Hey, isn’t that Mr. Si from Dongsheng Pharmaceutical coming tonight? It’s his day off.”

With that, several pairs of eyes simultaneously turned to Zhou Yan, who was sitting slouching in a chair, smoking and scrolling on her phone, her knees propped against the table’s edge. In a school, this posture would be playful; in a nightclub, it was promiscuous.

She hadn’t been listening closely to their conversation, but she had clearly heard the words “Dongsheng Pharmaceutical.”

A bolder girl walked up to her: “Sister Yan. Is Si Huang coming tonight?”

Zhou Yan had no idea about his schedule: “I don’t know.”

The girl thought Zhou Yan was being arrogant, putting on airs. She let out a scornful sniff and turned back to the group.

With Fang Nana’s past example, they no longer trusted Zhou Yan’s indifferent and uninhibited face. She would never be as carefree as she appeared. Her outward appearance was all a facade; inside, she was a cold-blooded killer.

They silently mocked her, then started talking about Zhao Youjin again, the woman predicted to turn Candy upside down tonight.

________________________________________

Around 9 PM, Zhao Youjin arrived. A red B-class car led the way, followed by two Jaguars and a Maserati. Besides her, there were a few of her sisters.

Sister Hong, like a deeply wrinkled old sycophant, trailed her eight-folded body to Zhao Youjin: “Ms. Zhao, your private room is ready, and our girls are all waiting.”

Zhou Yan stood next to a pillar on the second floor, a cigarette dangling from her mouth, nonchalantly glancing at the blue and white porcelain cheongsam. It indeed didn’t look like a fifty-year-old’s, but saying twenty was a bit much.

The few young girls standing opposite her were utterly disdainful: “Old woman. Her pussy’s loose.”

Women shouldn’t compare ages.

Younger women would say she was young and beautiful, with many tricks. Older women would say that when a woman only has youth to speak of, she might as well die, because she can no longer find other achievements to boast about.

But all mature, intellectual women grew from youth. If you look down on her when she’s young, she might grow to be even better than you when she reaches your age.

And as for the young and beautiful, for now, they truly only have their youth and beauty. No matter how many tricks you have, for the time being, you can only hold a man’s attention temporarily, far from everything that “old woman” you mentioned can offer him.

Zhou Yan watched for a while, then turned and went back to the changing room.

She was long used to being invisible in other people’s territory.

After spending about half an hour cooped up in the changing room, Sister Hong personally came to find her, saying that Zhao Youjin had specifically requested her.

Zhou Yan was a hostess, and generally, she wouldn’t refuse requests from customers. Candy also didn’t allow her to refuse.

She was very suspicious of this woman’s motive for requesting her, a woman she had never met, but she didn’t refuse and accepted.

The opportunities for her to say “no” were truly few.

According to the customer’s request, she changed into a bandeau top, went to the private room with Sister Hong, and then, under a dozen pairs of eyes, she looked up.

The lighting in the private room wasn’t dim; Zhao Youjin could clearly see Zhou Yan’s face. She really was a beautiful bitch. This was her first impression of Zhou Yan.

Zhao Youjin glanced at her again and smiled disdainfully.

She hadn’t expected a man like Si Wen to like such a vulgar woman.