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Kapitel 8

"No money, just bear with it," I said irritably.

"I know it's impossible, I'm just dreaming. Bro, where are you going?"

"Anyway, it's impossible to go abroad. As for where to go... maybe Beijing."

Yes, it's Beijing. But I haven't met Liang Yingwu yet, and the plan might change, so I don't plan to talk to Kou Yun much at this time. I just asked my younger brother to bring two sets of dice cups and started bragging to Kou Yun.

This is a game that is quite popular in bars. Kou Yun had never played it before, but the rules are simple and easy to learn.

Each person has six dice. Once rolled, they cannot move them and must cover their dice cup to prevent the other person from seeing their numbers. The two players roll twelve dice, resulting in twelve numbers. A six is greater than a five, and two ones are greater than a six. Theoretically, the maximum number of sixes is twelve. Each person can call out higher numbers, and the numbers rise back and forth. When someone feels the other person's call is excessively high, they can choose to reveal the numbers. For example, if someone calls eight fives, and the revealed numbers show less than eight fives combined, the other person loses; otherwise, they win.

We agreed that the loser would have to drink a sip of wine as a prize. At first, I didn't think much of losing the first two rounds, but as the game progressed, I couldn't win a single round, which was truly unbelievable.

I consider myself quite adept at reading people's expressions and often use a few tricks. In the past, I've always won more than I've lost when playing with others. But today, I was utterly defeated by a beginner. The little girl didn't try to hide her joy at all. Every time she looked at her cards, she couldn't contain her delight, as if she always had the best cards. When she challenged me, she was fearless, either bidding all the way up or revealing her cards without the slightest hesitation.

Some of my losses were truly bizarre. Once, Kou Yun called six fives, and I happened to have none of them, so I called to reveal my cards, because unless she rolled all six fives, I would win. Unexpectedly, she rolled six fives in a row. Another time, she called seven sixes, and I only had one, so I lost again after revealing my cards. Several other times, my cards were excellent, and when Kou Yun called to reveal her cards, if she had one or two of the points I had called, I would win, but she never had any.

We didn't have much wine to begin with, and towards the end I could only take small sips, but the wine was still quickly reduced to more than half a glass.

I stopped gambling and stared at Kou Yun's face for a long time; she just smiled.

She must have done something, but even when I watched her movements intently, I couldn't see anything amiss.

"This beer tastes terrible, bro, you'd better just drink it all," Kou Yun said to me smugly, shaking the dice cup loudly.

"I was going easy on you, did you think I wouldn't see through your trickery?"

“What cheating? Tell me, how did I cheat?” Kou Yun asked me with a stern face, seemingly not at all worried that I would really see through her tricks.

Seeing that I hadn't managed to cheat her, and unable to explain how she had cheated, I could only shake my head in frustration and finish the rest of my beer in one gulp.

Suddenly, the music blared again, and the two girls reappeared. This time, however, they weren't dancing on the platform, but in the center of the first-floor dance floor, leading the dance under the rotating spotlights. Guided by their fervent movements, more and more men and women entered the dance floor, swaying to the rhythm of the music, and the atmosphere became electric once more.

The little girl started fidgeting again, so I said to her, "If you want to jump, go ahead and jump, but don't jump for too long, it's almost ten o'clock."

Kou Yunteng stood up abruptly, but grabbed my hand instead: "Want to jump together?"

I have a conservative side to my personality, and I would never want to dance wildly to this kind of music, thinking that others would find it incredibly ugly. So I resolutely shook my head and refused to move no matter what.

Just as the two were tugging at each other, the music suddenly went down. I was wondering why the dance time was so short when I heard shouts and curses coming from below.

We both stuck our heads out of the railing and looked for a while before we realized what had just happened.

This bar was already a mixed bag of people, and while everyone was dancing on the dance floor, someone actually reached out and touched the hot lead dancer in the middle, probably more than once. The girl couldn't take it anymore and slapped him. This stirred up a hornet's nest, and immediately four or five thugs surrounded the girl.

It's unclear how much the lead dancer was groped, but the man who kept yelling had clear handprints on his face. The group of guys had all been drinking, and now they were throwing a tantrum, demanding an explanation from the girl.

This girl probably didn't have much experience in the ways of the world. Faced with this situation, she was at a loss and could only cry.

There were many onlookers, but seeing the men's menacing demeanor and the possibility that they were carrying weapons, no one dared to step forward. Only one man who appeared to be a foreman tried to mediate.

Seeing the situation becoming increasingly arrogant, the man who had been hit first slapped the girl hard across the face, then grabbed her chin and hurled insults at her. Suddenly, he screamed, clutched his head, and blood began to flow from his head as he cried out in pain.

The beer bottle that hit him on the head shattered and fell to the ground.

"Who the hell is that?" None of the people nearby had seen where the bottle came from, and they looked around. The onlookers all stepped back slightly, indicating that the matter had nothing to do with them.

Third, the mysterious younger sister who came up to us (6)

Before they could find the real culprit, someone suddenly pointed upwards and shouted, "Hey mistress, watch out, she's back again!"

The man who had just been hit looked up at the sound of the voice, only to see another beer bottle falling vertically from the ceiling. Perhaps he was still dazed from the earlier blow; seeing the bottle coming at him, his face was filled with terror, yet he didn't flinch, as if he were about to face the bottle with his own face. In the blink of an eye, the bottle landed on his face, but this time it didn't shatter upon impact; it exploded upon hitting the ground.

The poor man's face was ashen, yet he didn't utter a sound before collapsing backward. A person nearby quickly reached out to help him up, but they both fell to the ground.

Kou Yun clapped her hands and laughed. I felt she seemed a little too happy. I turned my head and saw that the two beer bottles on the table were gone.

Startled, I grabbed Kou Yun and pulled her away. Once the others recovered and checked which table had missing beer bottles, they'd know it was this girl's doing. I'd just come out of jail and wasn't afraid of these thugs, but I was about to meet Liang Yingwu, which was crucial, and I didn't want to cause any trouble.

After going downstairs, we went around behind the crowd of onlookers. Fortunately, we had already paid the bill for the drinks, so no one paid attention to us.

It was already past 9:50. I pulled Kou Yun along and headed towards the agreed-upon location, but I was still filled with doubt.

It's undeniable that Kou Yun threw the bottle, but I didn't feel anything from her actions until I noticed the bottle was missing.

Although my attention was drawn downstairs, Kou Yun was right next to me. She reached out and threw the bottle, so I should have noticed it out of the corner of my eye.

Thinking back to how I couldn't figure out how she cheated even though I was watching her closely, I felt a little relieved. But this only added to the mystery surrounding this little girl.

What's even stranger is that when the second bottle fell, I clearly saw that it didn't follow a parabola, but fell vertically from top to bottom, which is why the people below couldn't tell where the bottle came from.

For the bottle to fly out of my sight without me even noticing, the noise in the bar masking the sound of it cutting through the air would be one thing, but the bottle's initial speed must have been astonishing. To fly at that speed and then abruptly change its forward momentum to downward upon reaching the person's head—does such ingenious force manipulation even exist in this world?

I won't go into the fact that Kou Yun has such skill at such a young age, but I feel that making a bottle move in such a trajectory does not conform to the principles of mechanics.

Did I stumble into a martial arts novel where Kou Yun, despite his young age, is a master of internal energy and imbues the wine bottle with his inner strength, resulting in such an unbelievable performance?

But I clearly remember that when we escaped from the detention center, after running this short distance, Kou Yun was panting even more than I was.

"You're so happy even after smashing someone's head until it bleeds." I pretended to scold her.

"Those people were really awful, I just couldn't help myself." Kou Yun stuck out his tongue.

My heart sank. It really was her.

What is my fate? Even the little girl who clung to me during my time of hardship holds such a mysterious secret.

When I reached the street corner, it was five minutes to ten. Liang Yingwu hadn't arrived yet.

It was already late, but the air was so stuffy it felt like it was about to rain, with not a breath of fresh air. I hadn't showered in so long; my skin felt so sticky I could barely tear my clothes apart.

Standing on the street corner, watching the passersby, twenty minutes later, Liang Yingwu was still nowhere to be seen.

A few shadows slowly crept into my heart.

Part Two of "Shadows of 380,000"

IV. The removed arrest warrant (1)

Ten forty.

The raindrops, which started sparsely, gradually became denser.

On such a sweltering night, the cool raindrops hitting my forehead and back should have been quite refreshing, but standing in the darkness, I felt that the cold rain wasn't hitting my body, but rather gently knocking into my heart.

"Do you have any coins?" I asked Kou Yun.

She took out a one-yuan coin and silently handed it to me.

I walked toward the payphone booth not far away, when Kou Yun suddenly asked me, "Brother, what if he doesn't come?"

I didn't answer, and simply put the coin into the coin slot.

What exactly is stopping him?

I dialed the number, but the ringtone only rang twice before it cut off. It had been turned off.

I felt like I'd been hit hard by a hammer; Liang Yingwu wasn't answering the phone!

I walked out of the phone booth in a daze, when suddenly two bright lights shone on me, making me squint.

I was startled, and then I realized that it was a taxi that had come to an abrupt stop.

A man pushed open the car door and stepped out; it was none other than Liang Yingwu, that scoundrel who had given me such a rollercoaster of emotions.

"Why didn't you answer the phone?" I asked him abruptly.

"At this time, the area code is Guangzhou, so only you can make this call. I've already arrived, why bother?" He opened a long-handled umbrella and answered slowly.

He's still trying to act like a gentleman at a time like this...

"Why are you only arriving now?" I asked angrily.

“Flight delays are normal,” Liang Yingwu replied casually.

I stared at him like a fighting cock for a long time, and finally couldn't help but laugh.

Liang Yingwu laughed and tossed me a small bag.

I took it, unzipped it, and saw a stack of money inside. There was also a cell phone next to it, which, if I remember correctly, was one he had discarded.

I didn't say anything to him, but he had already guessed my current situation.

Judging by its thickness, it must cost at least 10,000 yuan.

"so much?"

"Great, we can go eat McDonald's again. Bro, you're such a good friend." Kou Yun had come up to us at some point and beamed when he saw the stack of money.

“It has to be repaid,” Liang Yingwu quickly added.

What a guy who finds pleasure in ruining the mood.

"When did you get another younger sister?" Liang Yingwu asked, looking at Kou Yun.

"This matter cannot be explained in a few words. Let's first secure a place to stay."

Kou Yun and I were already soaked by the rain, and we couldn't very well chat with Liang Yingwu for hours on the street.

We bought some spare underwear at a convenience store and found a small guesthouse to stay in, where we booked two rooms. The conditions were not good; the corridors were narrow and the lighting was dim. When we opened the door, there was a strange smell: the smell of disinfectant on the carpet, a musty smell from somewhere, and the stench of the sewer.

It's not that we're unwilling to spend money on a nicer hotel, but rather that any slightly reputable place requires an ID card, and neither Kou Yun nor I have one. Besides, if the police issue an arrest warrant, a small hotel wouldn't receive it so quickly.

Women are always less tolerant of dirt than men, so Kou Yun went to take a shower as soon as she entered her room, while I told Liang Yingwu how I ran into her from next door.

"Oh, so she's just sticking to you like this?" Liang Yingwu asked.

Before I could answer, I heard her yell from next door: "So what if you're going to stick with me? So what if you're going to stick with me?"

I was startled; the soundproofing here is terrible. I guess I'll have to speak in hushed tones. I wonder if anyone lives on the other side.

"This girl is a pretty good person, but she can be a bit crazy sometimes," I said with a wry smile.

"You're like a clay bodhisattva crossing the river, barely able to save yourself, yet you still have the leisure to help the elderly and children," Liang Yingwu said dismissively.

My smile grew even more helpless. Kou Yun was like a piece of chewing gum; once she stuck to me, I couldn't get rid of her. What could I do? Chase her away, or run away myself? It seemed like neither of those options was easy to do.