Lin Musheng’s att.i.tude towards Wan Qingsi was kind of like a dead pig in a pot of boiling water. No matter how caustic and sharp Wan Qingsi’s words were, no matter how much his words burned, Lin Musheng just ignored him.
“Come, come, Xiao Shasha, the snails here are to die for!” Lin Musheng said, holding out a fork.
Wan Qingsi got in the way of Lin Musheng’s fork before it reached Ah Sha’s mouth and bit off the snail. He spat it out after he chewed two times. “Disgusting!”
Ah Sha looked at the two men exasperatedly. “Oh, my G.o.d… Can you two stop acting like a bunch of three-year-olds?”
Wan Qingsi’s phone suddenly rang. “I have to take this,” Wan Qingsi said, standing up.
Lin Musheng watched Wan Qingsi stepping out of the restaurant, then sighed. “Ah Sha, would you have chosen me if I met you earlier?”
“No,” Ah Sha said, giving Lin Musheng an apologetic smile. “For as long as I can remember, Wan Qingsi has always been there in my life ever since I was three. He’s become inseparable from my life.”
Lin Musheng smirked. “Shouldn’t have asked.”
“Musheng!” Ah Sha held his hand. “Thank you. Thank you so much for everything. I appreciate and respect your feelings for me, please don’t ever doubt that. And… I’ll forever be indebted to you for everything you’ve done for me. I truly hope that you can find your own happiness. I don’t think what you feel for me is love at all, but persistent grat.i.tude. When you were on the brink of life and death, I gave you hope.”
“Is that really not love…?” Lin Musheng mumbled. Then, they heard Wan Qingsi’s angry roar. “How dare you touch her hand!”
Ah Sha stood up and held Wan Qingsi back before he could pounce on Lin Musheng. “Didn’t you see that I’m holding his hand, not the other way around? Geez!”
That statement actually made Wan Qingsi feel worse. Wan Qingsi glared at Ah Sha. “Why are you holding his hand?”
“Probably because she’s just suddenly realized that I’m a much better man than you are!” said Lin Musheng.
Wan Qingsi returned to his seat and picked up his wine gla.s.s elegantly. He took a sip and said, “Ah, that’s a relief then. Because no matter how I look at it, I can’t see how you could possibly be better than me.”
“Haha…” Lin Musheng chuckled. “Well, if we compare skin thickness, then you’re clearly way better than I am.”
On the way home, Wan Qingsi was still scowling as he drove. Ah Sha clung to his arm and began comforting him: “When I held his hand at the time, I was telling him that you’re the only man I’ll ever love. I was telling him not to waste any more of his time on me. We now have half of the formula because of him. I see him as a friend.”
“I know!” Wan Qingsi said, suddenly pulling up to the roadside. He hugged her tightly. “Ah Sha, because we grew up together, you never really had a choice. Right now… I’m scared. I’m terrified because now you know that I’m not the only man in this world who’s nice to you. If you had a choice, would you still love me…”
…
Ah Sha never knew that Wan Qingsi had been having such thoughts. To her, her Brother Xunxun was pretty much omnipotent. There was nothing in this world that was too difficult for him to handle. She never knew that there were times where he would feel insecure too.
“Brother Xunxun!” Ah Sha patted his back. “I don’t know about other women. Most of them will have to choose because they need to. But you see, I don’t even need to choose! Because I already fell in love with you when I was just a little girl. I wanted to marry you even back then. You’re like oxygen to me. I won’t be able to live without you.”
Wan Qingsi raised his head, revealing his sparkling eyes. “Really? You won’t hesitate at all? You won’t choose anyone but me?”
“It’s always just been you!” Ah Sha kissed him. “Don’t tell me you have some other woman you’re seeing?” Ah Sha’s gaze turned into a glare. “Who is it? That fake Ying Xin? I’m going to poison her to death!”
Wan Qingsi’s chest trembled with laughter, and he hugged her tight. “I can’t wait for us to get home!” he growled.
“Wan Qinshou!” Ah Sha poked his face. (T/N: Qinshou is a Chinese term for “animal”; in some contexts, it is used to refer to someone who is perverted or crazy about s.e.x)
That night, they were extremely gentle with each other in their lovemaking. Perhaps their conversation in the car was cathartic in that so many years of pent-up emotions were finally brought to light. Ah Sha was very acquiescent, agreeing to any position that Wan Qingsi wanted, much to his delight. The word “babe” never stopped pouring out of his lips for the entire night.
It was already noon by the time Ah Sha arrived at the movie set the following day. She’d always been getting special treatment from the production crew; unless they had notified her in advance to come earlier, she usually just showed up at the movie set around noon.
The director was okay with this kind of schedule. After all, Stars Entertainment was paying for everything, and Wan Qingsi had already told them to take their time with the filming. If the director was okay with it, then, naturally, everyone else was too. Compared to other production teams whose crews had to start work early in the morning and then wrap up work way past midnight, they were practically in heaven!
“Are you okay?” Ah Sha asked Zheng Gege. She’d notice Zheng Gege s.p.a.cing out a lot today.
Zheng Gege’s brows were knitted tightly. “I feel like someone’s been following me for the past two days.”
“Following you? When?” Ah Sha paused in thought. “You mean on the way home?”
“Yeah.” Zheng Gege nodded. “I stay in the Old City region with a lot of small alleyways. Good thing we usually wrap things up early. Otherwise, I don’t think I can go back alone.”
“Did you get on anyone’s bad side lately?” Ah Sha asked.
“With the way I am…” Zheng Gege shrugged. Ah Sha knew what she meant. Zheng Gege was usually cold and aloof. She wouldn’t have known it even if she did p.i.s.s anyone off.
“Maybe I was being paranoid,” Zheng Gege said when she noticed Ah Sha’s frown. “I mean, I didn’t actually see anyone following me.”
“Give me your phone,” Ah Sha said, holding out her hand. Zheng Gege complied.
Ah Sha took the phone and saved her own number into the phone. “Call me if there’s anything. And I mean anything, you hear me?”
Touched, Zheng Gege retrieved her phone and said, “Thank you!”
Well, the old adage about a woman’s being accurate turned out to be correct. Three nights later, when Ah Sha and Wan Qingsi were playing Chinese Chess (the loser had to remove one article of clothing), Ah Sha’s phone suddenly rang. She picked up immediately when she glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Zheng Gege.
“Ah Sha, someone’s trying to kidnap me, please! Hel—” CLACK! Someone had s.n.a.t.c.hed the phone away. Ah Sha sprang to her feet.
Wan Qingsi could already tell that something was amiss based on Ah Sha’s body language. “What happened?” he asked.
“Zheng Gege was kidnapped,” Ah Sha said, quickly putting her clothes back on. “Ask Wan Yi to start tracking her down. She must’ve been abducted in the area near her place. She told me before that someone’s been following her.”
“Got it,” Wan Qingsi said pulling out his phone. He called Qi Xiu first to find out Zheng Gege’s address. After that, he ordered Wan Yi to head over to the address. By the time Wan Qingsi wrapped up both calls, Ah Sha had already gotten dressed and was waiting for him at the door.
“Don’t worry, okay? We’ll heave over now,” Wan Qingsi said, giving her a hug.
Halfway there, Wan Yi called Wan Qingsi to report that they already found out where Zheng Gege had been taken—in the alleyway outside Zheng Gege’s home. Her handbag and phone were found in a dumpster nearby.
“Now we can be sure that it was a premediated abduction,” Wan Qingsi said after he hung up. “Did she make any enemies lately?”
Ah Sha shook her head, then froze when she suddenly thought of someone. “Could it be Hao Yuan…”
Lin Musheng and a couple of his men walked out from the bar they’d been hanging out at. He was considering whether he should drop by Wan Qingsi’s place just to p.i.s.s him off when he saw a few suspicious-looking men carrying a person into the hotel opposite them.
“Boss, it’s a woman they’re carrying.”
“Yeah, no sh*t,” Lin Musheng said, rolling his eyes. “Who would drag another man into a hotel at this hour?” Lin Musheng decided to just leave. He’d run into situations like this over and over again, but not once had he poked his nose into them. However, when he was about to get into his car, something made him hesitate.
If Ah Sha had abandoned him that year, would there still be a Lin Musheng today?
“Let’s go check out what those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds are up to!” Lin Musheng told his men.
Zheng Gege was tossed onto a bed. Five men stood around her.
“Wuwu… mmph…” Her mouth had been covered by duct tape earlier by her kidnappers. All she could do was shake her head and glare at her abductors.
The oldest-looking man spoke first. “Let her talk.”
A red-haired man pulled the duct tape from her mouth, then caressed her cheek.
“Who are you people?” Zheng Gege said. “Why did you kidnap me?”
“Yo… look at that. She got some guts, eh? She didn’t even cry,” said the oldest looking man. The guy was clearly the leader. One of his henchmen began laughing lecherously. “Boss, she won’t cry… for now. She will be once you’ve stripped her naked and lie on top of her. Hahaha!”
Understanding dawned on Zheng Gege. “Someone hired you to rape me, didn’t they?”
The leader raised her chin and licked her cheek. “She doesn’t taste bad at all,” he remarked. “Serves you right for p.i.s.sing off someone! Don’t worry. This is your first time. I’ll be gentle.”
“You guys should go get the cameras ready,” he told his henchmen. “After that go wait in the next room. Come here only when I’m done having fun with her.”
“Oh, come on, boss,” said the red-haired man. “Can’t we stay here and, you know, watch and learn?”
“F*ck you!”
Zheng Gege was trembling all over. She knew that she couldn’t get away from this today. “Is it really so hard for me to live my life? I’ve finally become an actress and made my way into Stars Entertainment… In the end, someone’s still out there to ruin me…”
“Open your mouth,” said red-haired man, yanking her jaw open. The man shoved some kind of pill into her mouth.
Zheng Gege wanted to spit it out, but it was too late. The pill dissolved the moment it touched her tongue. She coughed a few times. “What did you give me?”
“Let’s just say it’s something that gives you so much pleasure that you want to die.” The leader had already begun taking off his clothes. His henchmen opened the door to leave the room. All of a sudden, the red-haired man shouted, “Who are you people! What are you doing!”
The henchmen were shoved back into the room. Zheng Gege caught a glimpse of the newcomers. The one standing in front was a handsome and buff man, and he was staring right at her with an evil smile.
“Wh-who are you people?” the leader said. He knew that these people didn’t come in peace.
Lin Musheng kicked the video camera away. “We’re here to rescue her.”
One of the henchmen tried to fight back. “We’re all in the same line of business, so you should know the rules. What you’re doing is against the rules!”
“Pfft!” Lin Musheng laughed. “I like this woman, so she’s mine for the night. You guys got a problem with that?”
The leader was already starting to fear for his life. But he’d already received his payment, if he didn’t finish the job today, he wouldn’t be able to answer to the people who hired him. The leader slowly removed a knife from his pocket. Before he could attack, he saw the man, the one who was holding down his red-haired henchman, pulling out a gun.
BANG! “Aargh!” the red-haired man screamed in pain. “Boss! Save me!” He’d just been shot in the leg.
The leader trembled in fear. CLANG! The knife fell from his hand to the floor. These guys had guns, and the leader knew that he was in way over his head this time.
“Now can I take her away?” Lin Musheng smiled.
“S-s-sure…”
Lin Musheng gave his hand a quick wave. His henchmen moved in and undid the bindings on Zheng Gege’s body. One of the henchmen discovered that Zheng Gege’s body was burning and that she was already delirious.
“Boss, she’s been drugged.”
“What a pain…” Lin Musheng said with a frown. “Take her to the hospital.”
Lin Musheng led his men out of the hotel. The henchman who was carrying Zheng Gege chuckled and stared at Lin Musheng. “Should we take her to your room, boss?”
“Bullsh*t!” Lin Musheng kicked the henchman. “What kind of man do you think I am?”
Lin Musheng had never been wanting in female attention, but then he met Ah Sha. Before he sorted out what he truly felt for Ah Sha, he wasn’t interested in any other woman.