Jia Quan looked at Qin Feng, sensing a deeper desire behind his words. Jia Quan then smiled and said, "Brother, you"re too polite. I"ll accept some shares, but my percentage should be lowered. Please, let me accept twenty percent. It won"t be easy for you to run a bar. You"ll need to stay up late every day to make that hard-earned money. Giving so much to me is really not justified." "Well, you"ll just need to accept anyway," Qin Feng said calmly. Truthfully, he hoped to give twenty percent to Jia Quan, but he said forty to let the man choose for himself.
Jia Quan saw through Qin Feng. He couldn"t count the number of times he"d had similar conversations. He held shares in businesses all across the Tianhe, simply because of his power. This method of doing business was no secret in any city.
"Zhao Jun and his men—they haven"t messed with you, have they? I"ve been looking for a reason to get him into trouble."
Jia Quan"s ability to call for favors was noteworthy. He held many people in the palm of his hand and could get whatever he needed with a moment"s notice. This was true power, stronger even than that of Liu Bangguo, the secretary of the munic.i.p.al party committee.
Qin Feng replied, "No, no. He has already lost three fingers, which is pitiful enough. Speaking of that, if you have the opportunity in the future, will you protect him for me? After all, he was my big brother. It"s not easy to shed those ties. Right?"
Jia Quan looked displeased but said, "I see. Yes, I can do what you ask."
-----
In the evening, Qin Feng cooked several dishes for Sister Flower: hot fried pigeon, cola chicken wings, sauced bone, fried tilapia, and seaweed soup.
A homemade meal! Sister Flower was brought to tears. She opened a bottle of red wine and clinked her cup against Qin Feng"s. "Thank you for being here with me," she said.
"in the future, I will always be with you. As long as you don"t leave me, I won"t give up." Qin Feng knew that Sister Flower might read into his words, but right now, he was enjoying entertaining all possibilities. It wasn"t often that the two of them could indulge in these types of feelings, and he knew that it would be dangerous for them to actually be together.
Although they didn"t speak about the nuances of the situation, Sister Flower intuitively understood. In the past, she had waited for Hu Lancheng for such a long time, and that had ended in tragedy.
Sister Flower felt that a wonderful moment between two people was not to be treated casually. She believed that the ability to be together and create cherished memories was the most precious event anyone could experience, even if it was finite.
Still, she interrupted the moment to ask, "Qin Feng, why are you so nice to me?"
After drinking two gla.s.ses of red wine, Sister Flower had become slightly drunk, her cheeks rosy and her eyes shining brightly. Her tolerance was usually higher, but she may not have been intoxicated solely by the wine. The moment with Qin Feng had also gone to her head. He was one of the most special people she"d ever met.
"I won"t get into that." Qin Feng"s answer was short and unsatisfying, and he quickly changed the subject.
"My regiment will leave tomorrow morning. I"ll go to the provincial capital by plane, then take a bus to Dali."
Sister Flower spoke in a dreamy voice, oblivious to anything Qin Feng had just said. "Once upon a time, I dreamed of going to any place I wanted with my loved ones, leaving our footprints and taking memories. It would"ve been so decadent! I didn"t have to worry about money then. All year round, men tried to treat me and woo me. But, I couldn"t find a man who was really nice to me. I was very depressed. I am very depressed. Am I destined to die alone? All the men who have looked into my eyes are malicious. They all think of me as a brothel woman. Wanting to invade my body, but my heart…What about my heart? Do you understand? I need a man who really takes care of me, really protects me. I"m alone, and lonely."
Qin Feng listened to Sister Flower and understood her feelings. The more independent the person, the stronger this kind of feeling could be. Being a unique person alone in the world was actually quite difficult.
Qin Feng smiled kindly and said, "You won"t be in the future. I will always take care of you and be by your side. When you need it, my shoulder is your harbor." Qin Feng then said more seriously, "But I will not tie you down. If you want to untie the reins, you can at any time. You"re free to wander the vast sea and find your own paradise."
Hearing Qin Feng"s words, Sister Flower grabbed his hand and exclaimed, "No! I don"t want to leave. Please hold me tight, don"t let me go."
At that moment, time stood still. Qin Feng felt frozen in place until Sister Flower let go of his hand to reach for her wine gla.s.s again.
He smiled awkwardly and drank from his own cup before saying, "Sister Flower, some things you and I can"t decide. I can"t make you every promise. The greater the hope is, the greater the disappointment can be. I hope you can remain calm while facing anything that happens. I can try to guard you all my life, but I can"t necessarily be by your side every minute."
Listening to Qin Feng speak, Sister Flower felt something confusing. She opened her mouth a few times to speak, but in the end remained silent.
-----
This night was very long for Qin Feng. He lay in the guest bedroom, tossing and turning and looking out the window at the moonlight. He also wanted to find love again, and he couldn"t stop thinking of Sister Flower"s rosy cheeks from hours before. Unfortunately, for him, love was the most expensive luxury, and he could not yet afford it.
In her own room, Sister Flower also turned restlessly as she imagined misbehaving. The wine had made her bold, so she slid down the hall to Qin Feng"s room. Before he had a chance to react, she had slipped inside and into the bed beside him. He realized she wasn"t wearing her nightgown.
Life is so cruel, he thought to himself.
Qin Feng could hardly bear the temptation. Fortunately for both of them, he remained rational despite the wine. He gently wrapped Sister Flower in a blanket, then carried her back to her room. He thought about throwing cold water on her to sober her up, and then on himself to calm himself down.
Tonight will be a very long night, he thought as he went back to his room.
-----
Qin Feng did not know when he finally fell asleep, but he awoke the moment dawn light shone through the window. This was a habit he had had for many years. No matter how late he fell asleep the night before nor how tired he was, he always got up at the crack of dawn the next morning.
After a cold shower, he prepared breakfast.
He stood at the door of Sister Flower"s bedroom, staring at her white thighs clamping the quilts. He felt a ripple in his heart, and he longed to touch her. He felt that this was the most beautiful sight in the world. However, he knew that he couldn"t do anything about his desire right now.
Instead, Qin Feng placed a note by her bed and left.
He went straight to Tianhe Airport and bought a ticket for the first flight to Beijing. Green Dragon was waiting for him in the Special Battlefield. Once he arrived, he would meet up with the four soldiers of the Eagle Team, then they would fly to the battlefield by helicopter.
Qin Feng had just arrived at his gate when a stylish woman with a cap approached him. She had come to Tianhe specifically to find Qin Feng. He recognized her as the woman in the Golden Quad who had been missing for two months—Green Snake.