Chapter 1212: Su Su

In the private room of the Jin Cui Karaoke Hall, a scent of hormones permeated the air.

Liu Jin Cui was drenched in sweat, her hair already matted into strands by the moisture; on her smooth skin, beads of perspiration shimmered under the ambiguous indoor lighting.

Watching Wang Yan finish dressing and pull up his trousers.

She came to her senses, lit a cigarette, and said, "I really ought to give you some money."

"I give you hundreds of millions, and you give me a little money?" Wang Yan, bare-chested with one leg crossed over the other, also had a cigarette dangling from his lips as he sat down.

Liu Jin Cui scooted over, lying across Wang Yan's lap: "What's your name?"

"Wang Yan. The 'Yan' that means 'to speak'."

"My surname is Liu, just call me Jin Cui." Liu Jin Cui asked again, "What do you do?"

"Jianghu rules: leave no name, ask no origin, ask no destination. You're prying a bit too much."

"Which Jianghu's rules are these? I've never heard of them. You're quite amusing."

Thus, Liu Jin Cui burst into wanton laughter again.

She said, "Tell me, what do you do? I'm extremely curious."

"No work? Are you going to introduce some to me?"

"That's not impossible. You may have no work, but you're good at it; it's not like no one likes men. You could earn big money here just the same."

"Are you asking me to take clients, or just serve you alone?"

"With skills like yours, serving only me would be such a waste."

Wang Yan shook his head with amusement, pinching her large treasure with slight force: "You really play all sorts of tricks."

"Don't you like it?"

"I like playing with others; I don't like others playing with me."

Liu Jin Cui giggled, sat up, found her bag, took out a stack of US dollars, and slapped them onto Wang Yan's sturdy chest.

"Here you go. Do you like it?"

"If you give it, I'll take it. I think I haven't lost out, you think you've played me; everyone cooperates happily." Wang Yan accepted the money without hesitation and stuffed it into his pocket.

"You're a bit shameless."

"People with shame are those you'd never get to know."

"That's true." Liu Jin Cui agreed wholeheartedly.

The two had nothing serious to say, teasing each other with nothing substantial.

After chatting like this for a while, Liu Jin Cui finally recovered, slowly putting on her clothes, all the while teasing Wang Yan as she dressed, dragging the process out for quite some time.

She poured Wang Yan a glass of whiskey and said, "Leave a phone number? Come play often in the future; I won't charge you."

"Easy enough." Wang Yan nodded with a smile, and they exchanged phone numbers.

The two exchanged a glance and a smile, then raised their glasses for a sip.

"Fake liquor," Wang Yan said.

"I don't sell the real stuff."

"I thought you'd treat me differently and offer me real liquor."

"Next time." Liu Jin Cui rose with a coquettish laugh, "If you've had your fill, we'll meet again next time. If you haven't, I'll find a couple more sisters to keep you company."

"Next time then."

Amidst Liu Jin Cui's bright smiles and seemingly reluctant farewell, Wang Yan drove away from the Jin Cui Karaoke Hall, found an inn to stay in, and then strolled around Daqulin.

This place was indeed far more bustling than Xiao Monong; however, among those walking outside at night, six out of ten looked like trouble, while the remaining four stared at everything with fresh curiosity, clearly tourists.

The goods sold in the markets weren't much superior to those in Xiao Monong; overall, they were mostly the same. This side simply conducted such business to make money easily; they couldn't develop other industries. If one must specify, it could only be the service industry—all quick and easy money.

Wang Yan strolled around looking at everything, eating and drinking until late at night, before finally returning safely to the inn to wash up and sleep.

The next day, he continued strolling through Daqulin; after wandering for most of the day, in the afternoon, he stopped before a shop entrance. The shop's name was quite interesting: 'Not Only'.

As soon as he entered, he saw a short-haired figure bent over a desk drawing. Hearing the movement, the short-haired Miss turned around, allowing Wang Yan to see her face clearly.

She was a Miss with a round face and large eyes; described plainly, she seemed ordinary, yet greatness has its unique differences, and roundness has its own cleverness—this Miss was exactly such. Dressed simply in a plaid shirt and jeans, she carried a touch of valiance while revealing a hint of allure.

"Tattoo?"

The Miss asked simply and directly, speaking in Chinese.

"No tattoo." Wang Yan shook his head, walked into the room, and naturally sat on a stool, "The shop name is interesting; I came in to look around."

"From Huaxia?"

"From the Northeast."

"What brought you here? Tourism?"

"Starting a business."

The Miss laughed, unable to contain her mirth: "Starting a business in Sanbianpo? You're quite amusing. Big Brother, whether you get a tattoo or not, you're a real hooligan. Even if you are a real hooligan, part of the triads, you still can't do whatever you want around here."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "I know."

"So cut down on such jokes and visits here. Just look around casually, then hurry back; if anything happens, you won't even have a chance to regret it."

"I can tell you regret it."

The Miss glanced at Wang Yan, then resumed drawing.

"Anyway, I advise you to go back soon; don't indulge in wild fantasies. It's safer back home." She lost interest in chatting.

With a loud clang, Wang Yan slapped a gun onto the table beside him: "I have this."

The Miss glanced at it, shook her head, and said, "They have rifles; they even have cannons. What use is your broken pistol? Still talking about starting a business? 'The enterprise not yet half completed, but midway perished'—that describes you."

"But Liu Bei was also a hegemon who divided the realm into three."

"Quite cultured, aren't you?"

"Middle school texts; products of nine years of compulsory education."

The Miss took interest again, turned around, and looked at Wang Yan's arm: "What's tattooed?"

"Classic of Mountains and Seas."

Wang Yan very naturally took off his shirt. "You're the professional; see how the technique is."

The Miss was surprised by Wang Yan's robust and good-looking body, but her focus was truly on the tattoo; she leaned in to look closely and even reached out to touch his arm twice.

"Good, far better than mine. Did you get your whole body done? That must have cost quite a bit, right?"

"A friend. Didn't charge money."

The Miss nodded. "Alright, I know your muscles look good; put your clothes back on."

At this moment, there was some movement upstairs.

Wang Yan took a look: "Someone up there?"

"My younger sister."

Wang Yan then sniffed the air again, raising his eyebrows in surprise: "You came here because of this?"

"No choice." The Miss also shook her head.

"Let's get acquainted; my name is Wang Yan."

"Su Su."

The two symbolically shook hands.

Wang Yan asked: "Has she started intravenous injections yet?"

The so-called 'starting intravenous injections' meant beginning intravenous drug use; reaching this stage basically meant heading toward death.

Su Su shook her head, letting out a long sigh: "Not yet, but judging by her condition, I'm afraid it's soon."

"I can help her quit."

"Really?" Su Su doubted, but immediately pressed on, "What are the conditions?"

"No conditions."

"Why?"

"You're good-looking." Wang Yan spoke simply and directly.

Su Su paused for a moment, then she laughed, looking even more beautiful: "That's your condition?"

"Don't think I'm making threats." Wang Yan shook his head. "I could have just robbed you outright, but I'm a good person; I have morals and a bottom line."

While speaking, Wang Yan stood up, put his shirt back on, holstered the pistol on the table, and headed straight upstairs.

"What are you doing?" Su Su hurried over to block him.

"To see if she can still be saved."

Wang Yan patted her face, pushed her aside, and stepped onto the stairs to go up.

The smell upstairs was unpleasant; a woman with a dry, thin figure and an unnaturally pale, unhealthy complexion lay collapsed on the bed wearing a white gauze dress, her eyes open, a blissful smile on her face.

Wang Yan knew she had a pleasant name: Zhao Ziying. In the original drama, her ending was not very good...

He walked over, lifted Zhao Ziying's eyelids, pried open her mouth to inspect her oral cavity, and then checked the pulse in both her hands.

"How is it? Can she quit?" Su Su asked nervously from behind.

After a while, Wang Yan nodded: "Yes. Is there anywhere around here that sells Chinese medicine?"

"I don't know; probably not. I haven't heard of anywhere selling it." Su Su shook her head three times in confusion.

"Prepare a place for me to stay; I'll go buy the medicine and come back in a couple of days. If fast, tonight; if slow, in two or three days." Having said this, Wang Yan decisively went downstairs.

"Wait, that's it?"

"How about you settle the bill first?" Wang Yan glanced at her and continued downstairs.

By the time Su Su stood bewildered for a moment and followed him out, Wang Yan was already gone.

"Psycho!"

Su Su was so angry she laughed.

She cursed once, then returned inside to continue drawing.

Upstairs, the same woman, emaciated due to the side effects of heroin abuse, remained immersed in a false dream, a blissful smile hanging on her face...

Indeed, when someone suddenly appears, claims they can help someone quit an addiction, bluntly states they are attracted by the person's looks, and then demands a room be prepared so they can move in, anyone would think they are a swindler.

Zhao Ziying said: "But you still prepared a place for him and are waiting for him to move in."

Thus, Su Su, who had just been cursing Wang Yan as a big liar while laughing, fell silent.

Zhao Ziying continued: "Did you really take a liking to him, or do you want him to help me quit? Or is it both?"

Su Su looked at her half-sister and said: "Of course I want you to quit; that way you can survive, and the two of us will still have each other for company."

"Impossible to quit." Zhao Ziying laughed foolishly. "Once you touch it, you can never quit."

Su Su knew she was having another episode and ignored her; this was also a sequelae symptom—mood swings, extremely unstable.

"I think you just took a liking to him; you think I'm a burden and don't want me anymore." Zhao Ziying's tone was resentful and venomous. "It's all your fault; you brought me here, making my life worse than death!"

"Then go die!"

Zhao Ziying paused for a moment, then leaned in, pressing tightly against Su Su: "Are you angry? I was just saying that. You don't know; this place is simply heaven..."

Su Su couldn't bear it; she got up from the bed, went to the balcony on her own, and started smoking. From inside the room came Zhao Ziying's foolish laughter, ghost-like, a demonic sound piercing the ears...

In the blink of an eye, three days passed; that noon, Su Su's shop was not peaceful.

Because her competitor had come to cause trouble again.

It is not easy for men to do business here, let alone women; her shop had a better location, and because she was beautiful, she attracted many young people to get tattoos, which made the competitor across the street extremely displeased, so they often came over to cause trouble, always needing to stir up a mess before leaving.

But the situation this day was different; just as Su Su was loudly cursing her competitor yet unable to drive them away, the puttering sound of an engine came from the doorway, followed by the sound of a car door closing.

Then, gunshots rang out.

Wang Yan stepped on the leg of the man who had been shot, pressed the muzzle of his gun against the man's head, and said: "I'll give you five minutes to clean this place up for me, otherwise I'll take your life. Understand?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I understand, I understand." The man trembled as he hurriedly signaled the people who had come with him to cause trouble to clean up the mess he had made of the place...

Wang Yan folded his arms, a cigarette dangling from his lips, watching silently.

On the other side, Su Su didn't know what to say. Because she realized Wang Yan might truly be here to start a business. She felt Wang Yan was dangerous, but then she thought of the people she had dealt with when buying goods for her sister, and suddenly Wang Yan didn't seem so bad.

"Boss, is it acceptable?" The rival moved quickly, dragging his injured leg to stubbornly complete the task.

"Get out!"

The man nodded repeatedly, leading his subordinates as they limped and scurried out, their speed even greater than when his leg was healthy.

"He knows some people; aren't you afraid he'll come back to cause you trouble?" Su Su asked with concern.

Wang Yan unloaded the pistol: "People here only recognize one rule: anyone I can kill with a single shot is insignificant."

"They could kill you with one shot too, and they can fire repeatedly."

"You're quite humorous when you're being humorous."

Su Su rarely rolled her eyes, but since Wang Yan was speaking nonsense, she retorted, "Isn't that true?"

"You're right, but my point is, I'm not afraid. As long as I have a chance to kill others rather than being certain to die, do you understand?"

"I understand. Gambling with your life—is that how you're starting your business?"

"People here respect that." Wang Yan nodded with a smile, then holstered his gun, turned, and walked out, saying as he went, "Did you prepare a place for me?"

"No."

Su Su followed Wang Yan outside. She watched him open the rear door and then the trunk, which was packed tight with many large sacks. As she leaned closer, a strong scent of medicinal herbs filled her nostrils; she even spotted an earthenware pot used for decocting medicine.

"How much?"

"No charge."

Su Su said nothing more and helped Wang Yan carry the medicinal herbs upstairs. After several trips back and forth, they finally got everything up. The last item brought up was the bag containing Wang Yan's change of clothes.

Today, Zhao Ziying was sober. She watched silently as Wang Yan made trip after trip carrying things, then asked, "So you're the one who's going to help me kick the addiction?"

"Obviously."

"You won't succeed."

Wang Yan ignored her. She continued questioning, "Do you just want to sleep with Su Su? I can do that too. Come on?"

This was a side effect: it stimulated sexual addiction, but it was actually false. It merely made people crave it, not made them feel better or last longer; it only made them believe they felt better and lasted longer. In reality, they could barely even experience that fleeting moment of pleasure, as their sexual function continuously declined.

Wang Yan smiled, then walked over and stroked her face. Zhao Ziying also smiled, touching Wang Yan's hand.

Su Su watched nervously from the side. Just as she began to think something terrible was about to happen, she saw Wang Yan press a few points on Zhao Ziying's body. Instantly, Zhao Ziying fell into a deep sleep.

"What did you do? What's wrong with her?" Su Su rushed forward anxiously to check the situation.

"She's about to suffer withdrawal; it's better for her to be asleep. Go throw out all those things in your house."

"Is this how you're helping her quit?"

"Obviously not, otherwise why would I have gone out for several days to buy so many medicinal herbs?" Wang Yan waved his hand impatiently. "Even if I explained, you wouldn't understand. Just wait and see the results. Anyway, if she continues like this, she'll definitely die. Even if I shot her in the head, it would be an earlier release and quicker reincarnation. If you want things to improve, just listen to me."

Su Su let out a long breath but ultimately did not object. Because she truly had no other options; if there were any other way, two beautiful young women wouldn't have ended up here. As long as there was any hope, she had to grasp it.

Moreover, from their brief contact, she genuinely felt Wang Yan was a good person...

After organizing the huge pile of medicinal herbs they had carried up, Wang Yan also saw the room Su Su had prepared for him. It was cleaned very thoroughly; the sheets and quilts were all new and carried the scent of sunshine. In a place filled with foul odors, this was rare.

Wang Yan turned to look at Su Su. Su Su did not look at him, saying only, "As long as you help her quit and cure her."

In the original drama, there seemed to be some vague ambiguity between the feelings of Su Su and Zhao Ziying, but that had nothing to do with Wang Yan.

This was Sanbianpo; everyone had a layer of protection, making it unsuitable for developing mutual affection or discussing emotions...

Wang Yan smiled, turned, and went out to prepare the medicinal herbs for decoction. Before long, the bubbling sound emerged, accompanied by that distinctive smell of boiling Chinese herbs. It wasn't exactly foul, but ordinary people generally didn't care for it.

"Will it really work?" Su Su couldn't help but doubt.

"You're not as decisive as you were three days ago. However, I understand; concern makes one reckless. But you still haven't realized that in her current state, acting crazy and erratic, there's no difference between that and being dead."

"You make it sound easy. If it were you, would you try?"

"My entire family is gone, so I can't try." Wang Yan lit a cigarette, smiling as he shook his head.

Su Su came over, took one for herself, lit it, and leaned against Wang Yan, watching the medicinal pot on the stove together with him.

She asked, "So you were traumatized and came to Sanbianpo to start a business?"

"Not exactly. My family has been gone for many years. I went to consult a so-called highly spiritual immortal fortune-teller. He said my fate is hard and that my fortune lies in Sanbianpo. Since I'm all alone, with no ties or burdens, and as long as I'm full, my whole family is fed, I might as well come and see just how hard my fate really is."

"Then have you gained anything from your business venture so far?"

"Certainly. Haven't you seen my car parked outside? Even though it's smuggled goods, it must be worth at least one or two hundred thousand. And my gun—that was also acquired through my business venture."

"That's it?"

"Is that little?"

"Not little," Su Su said, "but I feel you should be able to achieve much more."

Of course, she now understood what Wang Yan meant by "starting a business."

"You guessed it right." Wang Yan laughed heartily. "When I first arrived, I was in Xiaomonong. There was a Century Casino there. From that boss, I earned two million red notes and seven hundred thousand US dollars. Oh, right, the car and the gun were also acquired from him."

"So you came here to escape with your life?"

"You believe that?"

"You don't seem like the type who likes to lie."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "I came for tourism. That kid has already been tamed by me. Even if I gave him eight times his courage, he wouldn't dare cause me trouble."

"So confident?"

"This place is just like that. Everyone looks fierce, ready to take lives at any moment; even children dare to strike lethally. But in reality, as long as you are even fiercer and more ruthless, their courage becomes worse than that of a mouse."

Wang Yan continued, "I might return to Xiaomonong in another month or two, so you should be prepared to close the shop and leave."

"How long will treating my sister take?"

"At least a year. And you must keep watch over her; she absolutely cannot touch those things again."

Su Su fell silent for a moment: "Just as you said, let's see how effective the treatment is first."