I slapped my forehead hard. What an idiot! I should have asked Wang Jing for Zhang Bing's phone number and address. Now I've alerted her!
As the crowds dispersed, the school gradually returned to calm. Sun Sixin and Bai Lianhua had already said their goodbyes. After having lunch and resting briefly, 300 was dragged off to class by Yan Jingsheng. The businessmen left their business cards and departed. I wandered around a couple of times with my hands behind my back and a gloomy expression, like a real dean of students, before finally giving in and making a call to the pawnshop. Li Shishi answered.
I asked, "Where is Xiang Yu?"
"Brother Xiang has driven out to buy some things."
How is he feeling?
“Well, I’ve noticed that he’s getting happier every day since he learned to drive. He even whistled when he went out today.”
I asked cautiously, "Do you think he's happy because he learned to drive, or something else?"
How would I know?
Did he mention Yu Ji when he left?
"No. By the way, Brother Xiang hasn't mentioned Sister Yu in a long time..."
I suddenly realized. My initial prediction was correct: Xiang Yu learned to drive and forgot about Yu Ji. Hahaha, that saves me a lot of trouble, Zhang Bing, I don't need to shamelessly pester you for your address anymore. My memory of you will forever remain at the "sewer."
Only then did Li Shishi timidly ask, "Cousin, what are you laughing at? Did the cigarette vendor sell you Zhonghua cigarettes as Hongyun again?"
I hopped on my motorcycle and sped back to the pawnshop. Now all the problems were solved: the school was stable; the bar was making money—now I understood why Liu Xuan worked so hard: he took kickbacks of tens of thousands every month as manager; Xiang Yu didn't want his wife anymore… Being a cockroach in this life is pretty good.
I entered the house and found Li Shishi busy at the computer again. I glanced at it and saw the screen filled with the words "talent show" flashing in a way that made my heart race, along with several young women looking blissful, their heads displaying temporary popularity rankings. I immediately deduced the judging criteria for this talent show: the deeper the cleavage, the higher the ranking. Li Shishi's breasts, if placed in that spot, would be like a small horse crossing a river—neither as big as the first place winner nor as small as the last.
I said, "You don't want to participate in a talent show, do you? If you really want to make movies, you might as well find Jin Shaoyan again..." I immediately realized that I had said the wrong thing, but Li Shishi seemed not to hear what I said. She used the mouse to drag the screen and said, "Talent shows are a good method, but unfortunately there is no one suitable for me yet."
Just then, a car pulled up in front of the door, and Xiang Yu walked in, carrying two large bags and beaming. I asked, "Brother Yu, what's got you so happy?"
“I’ve completed my apprenticeship today. I bought all these things myself by driving to the street, and I even drove around Futai Road. Not a single person tried to cheat me. Old Wang said that’s already quite difficult.”
Never being scammed once is equivalent to having an A1 license; being scammed more than three times definitely means you bought your license. This is a conclusion drawn by us local drivers who drive on Futai Road. Of course, being scammed doesn't happen without reason; they'll only try to scam you if you get a minor scratch, scrape, or bump into them. Nowadays, many bosses hire drivers without checking their licenses; their basic standard is whether the driver drives on Futai Road.
Xiang Yu pulled a bunch of things out of his bag, and Li Shishi asked curiously, "What are they?"
Xiang Yu placed a map wrapped in plastic on the table and said, "Xiao Qiang, tell me how to get there in a bit." Then he pulled out a compass, "I already know how to use this." Next was a military water bottle, "This is for drinking water." Then a large water bucket, "This is for spare gasoline, in case we run out of gas on the highway." Later he pulled out a tool bag, a spare battery, sunglasses...
The more I looked, the more uneasy I felt. Xiang Yu laid everything out on the table and excitedly shouted, "With these, I can drive my chariot to find Yu Ji!"
I stood there dumbfounded and said, "You...you're still leaving?"
Xiang Yu grabbed my shoulders and lifted me into the air, saying happily, "I can finally go find Yu Ji, brother."
I remember the first time I met him, he lifted me up in the air like this, except that he wanted me to send him back.
Both times it was because of Yu Ji, and both times he was full of hope.
But... this hope is destined to be shattered, and this time it will be even more painful. Because last time his hope was in me, but this time, he feels that hope is in his own hands.
I slapped myself hard, the sound ringing out. Because I suddenly decided to truly help Xiang Yu this time; whether Zhang Bing was Zhang Bing or Yu Ji, I was going to help Xiang Yu seduce her!
Didn't Liu Bang's great-great-grandson say, "Brothers are like hands and feet, women are like clothes"?
And this time, the brothers are my own brothers, and the woman... well, she's not my woman.
Chapter Seventy-Nine: Like a Dream
Li Shishi glanced at me furtively; she was probably the only one who understood my predicament. I told her, "Call Liu Bang and tell him to be back within half an hour." I tidied up everything Xiang Yu had bought and asked him, "Brother Yu, when are you planning to leave?"
"Of course, the sooner the better. I thought I'd come over earlier, but I felt it wouldn't be right not to let you know."
I:"……"
Just then, Li Shishi's phone rang. For some reason, her face turned red and she almost dropped the receiver. She put the receiver on the table, said "Cousin..." and walked away.
I took it curiously and listened, only to hear Liu Bang say, "...Who, who is it, panting, panting, talking...?"
I chuckled when I heard that: "Bangzi, are we paying public grain? Tithing tax?"
When Liu Bang heard it was me, he was a little embarrassed and said, "Huffing and puffing, I'm helping Fengfeng move the boxes, huffing and puffing..."
I roared, "Bullshit! Which hand did you use to answer the phone while moving boxes? Is your third leg a phone stand? You son of a bitch, come back here right now!"
Black Widow Guo Tianfeng snatched the phone: "Huff, huff... How can you talk like that? He's a son of a bitch, huff, huff... What am I then?"
I thought to myself, "Of course you're the one who got screwed over," but I said aloud, "Hehe, is your sister-in-law moving boxes too?"
When Black Widow heard it was me, she said embarrassedly, "Oh, it's Qiangzi. We're almost done."
"No way, rushing to finish will lead to neglecting quality."
Liu Bang shouted from the side, "Damn Xiao Qiang, I'm going back in another hour."
Black Widow: "Don't listen to him. I guarantee he'll be home in half an hour at most."
Liu Bang: "...I'll fucking kill you!" The phone call ended.
I kicked Xiang Yu's bag under the sofa, stood on tiptoe, patted his shoulder, and said, "Brother Yu, I'll take you to see someone, and then if you want to leave, I won't stop you."
"Who is it?" Xiang Yu asked.
"I can't tell you right now." Xiang Yu looked at me questioningly, then nodded in agreement.
Li Shishi tugged at my sleeve and whispered, "Have Xiang Liang and Fan Zeng arrived?"
I whispered, "It's a woman."