Chapter 91 How Many Boyfriends Do You Actually Have? (Revised...)
Regardless of the love, hate, and grudges between the Xie family uncles and nephews, the meal was ultimately a pleasant one for both the host and guests.
The ten truckloads of goods brought by Xie Xun were like a timely rain, relieving He Changyi's urgent need and filling the gap during the period of stock shortage.
After delivering the goods, Xie Xun didn't rush back. Instead, he stayed as a guest and toured the Friendship Store with great interest.
He Changyi didn't chase Xie Xun away, letting him do as he pleased. Sometimes when he was too busy, he would even pull Xie Xun over to help him out, passing on the most difficult customers.
Xie Xun'e spoke fluent and eloquent English, was quick-witted and resourceful, and had seen many different kinds of Russians before, so he handled things with ease, easily resolving the issues with a few words. Zheng Xiaowei's eyes lit up, and he followed him around like a little tail, almost saying, "If you don't mind, I'd like to become your godfather."
Xie Xun was very good at ordering Zheng Xiaowei around, having him fetch tea and carry bags for him. He could get a nuclear-powered donkey just by praising him a couple of times.
He Changyi decided to be accommodating and let Xie Xun take Zheng Xiaowei with him before he left, so as not to break up the couple.
Zheng Xiaowei was initially surprised, then delighted, and stared eagerly at Xie Xun.
Xie Xun smiled like a fox, and casually said his refusal: "No, he's your soldier. I can't just poach him every time I come here. I'm afraid you won't want to see me again next time."
He patted Zheng Xiaowei on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Work hard with Sister He; she's the best boss you'll ever meet."
Zheng Xiaowei was so flattered that he was like a greenhorn, and said in a daze, "I will definitely work hard with Sister He!"
Xie Xun patted him on the shoulder again, praising him like a good older brother: "Keep it up, I believe in you."
He Changyi stood to one side with her arms crossed. Xie Xun turned his head and winked at her secretly, but she just looked at him with a half-smile.
—The reason he doesn't want to steal someone else's partner is clearly because he dislikes having someone too similar to himself around him.
Seeing Zheng Xiaowei reminds me of myself when I was seventeen or eighteen, a skinny, bald fox who would tuck his tail between his legs and run away if someone kicked him, and would scavenge for scraps while watching people's expressions.
After being beaten, he hid back in his dilapidated den, licking his wounds while comforting himself with the delusional thought of future triumphs.
Xie Xun has endured ten years of hardship and is now a successful and accomplished man. He looks at Zheng Xiaowei like he's looking at an open glass bottle. He understands perfectly all of Zheng Xiaowei's confused and muddled thoughts.
The past was too shabby, and now the thought of it only makes me feel unlucky. I wish I could only let He Changyi see my glamorous side.
Ideally, he would have looked the way he does now when they first met, but that's not the case.
He hated her for being aloof, yet he loved her for being aloof.
The bright moon hangs high; can it shine alone?
His ambition, his obsession, and his deep-seated, unrevealed fanaticism.
All those obscure and difficult-to-express thoughts piled up, but only one sentence came to mind:
"How about I treat you to dinner tonight?"
He Changyi was completely unaware of the complex emotions hidden beneath Xie Xun's smiling face, or perhaps she was simply too lazy to think about it.
"Not today, I have plans tonight."
She glanced at her watch, casually took off her warehouse work clothes, walked to the mirror, tidied her hair, and touched up her lipstick.
Now she looks much better, at least she can go out and be seen in public, instead of looking too disheveled—who knows, she's not so badly off that she has to work as a mover, she's just here to supervise the warehouse, after all, with ten new truckloads of goods arriving, it really wouldn't be possible without her overseeing things.
Unwittingly, He Changyi noticed the reflection of a person in the mirror. Xie Xun behind her had stopped laughing at some point and now looked coldly mocking.
She turned to him and asked, "What's wrong?"
Xie Xun was taken aback, but quickly put on a smile and said casually, "I'm a little curious, what kind of guest deserves your special treatment?"
He Changyi looked in the mirror again. "Am I being serious?"
She turned her head left and right, then suddenly realized what she was doing, took out a powder compact from her bag, pressed it under her eyes, rubbed some lipstick with her finger, and gently rubbed it in circles on her cheeks.
She looks much healthier now.
In the mirror, Xie Xun was still smiling, but for some reason, his smile seemed a little stiff, giving the impression of clenching his teeth.
He Changyi tossed her lipstick and powder compact into her bag, put on her coat, picked up her handbag, and walked away in her high heels.
Before parting, she remembered something and turned to Zheng Xiaowei, instructing him, "Take your older brother out for a nice meal tonight, I'll reimburse you."
Zheng Xiaowei responded loudly, "Yes!"
He turned to Xie Xun with a big smile and asked, "Brother, what do you want to eat? How about we go for Tatar kebabs tonight? We'll order half a lamb and a few bottles of wine. I guarantee we'll eat and drink well!"
Xie Xun looked over coldly, which sent a chill down Zheng Xiaowei's spine.
Suddenly he stopped laughing. How can someone change their expression so suddenly...?
Zheng Xiaowei asked hesitantly, "Brother Xie, are you not satisfied with the barbecue? How about this, you say what you want to eat and we'll eat it, I don't have to eat it..."
Xie Xun remained silent, leaving Zheng Xiaowei behind, and turned to chase after He Changyi.
He was tall and had long legs, so he walked very fast. Before long, he caught up with He Changyi on the street and saw him standing next to a luxury car, talking to a Slavic man wearing a hat.
The man had his back to Xie Xun, so Xie Xun couldn't see his face, but for some reason, he looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
Who is it...?
He has a good memory and remembered it quickly.
Police cars, corpses, the Volga Hotel, and Ego men.
Xie Xun stopped and stood sideways inside the arched doorway, staring intently at it, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
He Changyi and the man were clearly very familiar with each other. When the two talked, it was as if a barrier, impenetrable and self-contained, rose out of thin air, and no matter how many people passed by, they were just background figures.
Xie Xun couldn't see the man's expression, but he could see He Changyi's radiant spirit, a relaxed and carefree demeanor he had never seen before.
The man from Eguo leaned slightly forward, a gesture of attentive listening, and also a declaration that he was drawing her into his protective circle.
Xie Xun was filled with rage.
He was mentally prepared, but when this scene unfolded before his eyes, he still hated that damned Russian to the core.
Why should I?!
He was the one who arrived first, and he was the one who met He Changyi first!
He wasn't late; he was even a step ahead of everyone else!
But why not him!
Xie Xun's heart felt as if it were being soaked in sulfuric acid; he continued to spy on it as if in self-torture, simultaneously filled with resentment and self-consolation.
It's alright, he was only a step too late; he had already made up his mind.
Anyway, he has no conscience and no morals. He doesn't understand the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues. So what if he's just a foreign boyfriend? Even if they got a marriage certificate, so what?
He absolutely must get it.
Even if it's done in an immoral and distorted way.
The three of them don't feel crowded at all.
Xie Xun stood in the shadow of the doorpost, seemingly blending into it, his cold eyes fixed on the man and woman not far away.
The man seemed to sense something, and turned his head sharply, his eyes meeting precisely with Xie Xun's not far away.
—That was a completely unfamiliar face!
Xie Xun was deeply shocked and felt completely lost and helpless for a moment, even a little aggrieved.
Where is that blond policeman? And who is this man?
How many Slavic lovers did she keep?!
Beside the Reguli car, Alexei turned his gaze back to He Changyi and said, "It seems your partner is very concerned about your personal safety."
He Changyi glanced at Xie Xun, surprised; he looked as if he had been punched in the face.
"Who knows? Maybe it's because it's too unsafe here. After all, there are news reports of black marketeers being killed every day."
Alexei scoffed, turned around, opened the car door, and gestured for He Changyi to get in.
"He'd better call the police now instead of spying like a KGB agent."
Before getting into the car, Alexei took one last look at Xie Xun, "He should be glad I don't have a habit of firing my gun indiscriminately."
He Changyi rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, really, thank you so much, Mr. Alexei, who abides by the law. The country should award you a medal. Shall I order a ten-kilogram medal for you right now?"
Alexei snorted and, without warning, stepped on the gas.
The car launched itself from the spot, and He Changyi was thrown back into his seat by the inertia, furiously yelling, "You don't just need a medal, you need a rocket silo!"
Cars sped erratically on the road, but Alexei's voice sounded calm and pleasant.
"Elope to the moon? That sounds so romantic."
The entire car was filled with He Changyi's roaring.
"What a load of bull! Let's go exile to Mars!"
Alexei was driving through Vladimir and stopped by He Changyi for a meal. After the meal, he had to continue his journey to a neighboring state to handle some matters.
He Changyi scoffed, "Gangsters go on business trips too? Do they reimburse travel expenses? Do they need to paste invoices and receipts all over the place? Considering our friendship, I can issue you a few fake invoices for a large sum. Do you prefer restaurants or accommodations?"
Alexei remained calm and said without changing his expression, "Your grandmother misses you very much. You can go and see her when you have time."
He Changyi's expression softened, but he still kept a stern face.
"Of course I would, but shouldn't you reflect on why you left your elderly grandmother all alone at home?"
Alexei offered no explanation, simply stating, "I need to work."
He Changyi scoffed, "What a piece of shit job!"
Alexei: ...Is she really going to have a grudge against dog poop today?
He Changyi finished her meal in a very unhappy mood. When it came time to pay the bill, she slammed several large bills on the table. The surprised waiter looked at her and then at Alexei, but ultimately wisely remained silent.
He Changyi slapped the change onto Alexei's chest and asked provocatively, "Can that piece of shit job earn you this much money? You might as well come with me; I can make you much more money than this."
This is a familiar topic, one that Alexei had never answered before, but today he surprisingly took the time to speak.
What kind of job do you want me to do?
He leaned down, slowly approaching her cheek, his breath ruffling her fine hairs.
Whispering sweet nothings to each other.
"Bodyguards?" His voice was almost breathless. "Or something else?"
He Changyi turned her head to the side and asked him in return, "And what about you? What do you want to do?"
Alexei stepped back to his original position and looked down at He Changyi.
"any."
He said, "Anything you want me to do, I'll do."
He Changyi smiled sweetly, "Okay, now please forget about that shitty gang job!"
Alexei laughed loudly, "At least not now!"
He walked out of the restaurant, stood by his car, tossed the keys up and caught them, looking both carefree and frivolous.
"Don't worry, I'll think about it when I get back."
On the way back, He Changyi said, "I'm starting to doubt the nature of your so-called mafia."
Alexei stared at the road ahead and casually asked, "What kind of nature?"
He Changyi sneered, "Actually, the Mafia is something you made up to elevate your own status, right? In reality, it's just an illegal organization made up of a bunch of dung beetles rolling around in dog shit!"
The car suddenly stopped at the side of the road.
Alexei looked at He Changyi with a complicated expression.
Can't she forget about dog poop? Damn it, who taught her that word?!
When they returned to their residences, most people had already gone to bed, except for the lights in the foyer.
The bodyguard on night duty lowered his hand from the gun pouch on his lower back only after he recognized the person who had arrived as He Changyi.
He Changyi handed him the freshly packed dishes she had specially brought back, saying, "Thank you for your hard work."
The two bodyguards grinned broadly, one fetching chopsticks and the other fork, and happily began to eat their late-night snack.
He Changyi took off her high heels and tiptoed upstairs to the second floor. Just as she was about to go back to her room to rest, she saw someone sitting on the sofa in the open-plan living room.
She paused, and by the moonlight streaming through the window, she could see the other person's face clearly.
"Xie Xun? Why aren't you resting yet?"
Xie Xun sat in the darkness, motionless and silent. Only when He Changyi was about to turn on the floor lamp did he suddenly chuckle.
"He Changyi, you're really amazing."
These words were truly sarcastic and unpleasant. He Changyi frowned and said unhappily, "Xie Xun, what's wrong with you?"
Xie Xun stood up and asked softly:
"He Changyi, how many boyfriends do you have?"
He Changyi had just vented his anger on Alexei, and his rage hadn't subsided when Xie Xun deliberately walked right into the line of fire.
"None of your business. Even if I have a hundred boyfriends, what right do you have to tell me what to do?"
Xie Xun almost laughed in anger as he quickly approached He Changyi in a few steps.
"Who's qualified? That blond cop? Does he know you have so many boyfriends?"
He Changyi also smiled.
"Xie Xun, what gives you the right to question me? A former shareholder who split up with me, or my savior? Is there some personal relationship between us that goes beyond friendship, making you feel qualified to interrogate me?"
Xie Xun paused, as if he had been doused with a bucket of ice water.
He Changyi raised her hand and gently patted his chest, the gesture intimate, but her tone icy.
"Don't overthink it, or you might lose all your friends in the future."
She took a step back, creating distance between them.
Before turning to go back to her room, as if remembering something, He Changyi politely nodded to Xie Xun.
"good evening."
Sweet dreams.
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Author's note: Xie Xun: Thank goodness for the dream. Do you think I'll be able to fall asleep tonight?
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