Jin Shaoyan said, "I said, 'I'm not leaving!'"
The three of us were stunned: Ersha had guessed everything correctly!
Jin Shaoyan said listlessly, "I know that after I leave, I will probably never see Shishi again. She can't explain it to me, so she simply ran away. I told her that it's very interesting to be her younger brother, and I'm willing to cooperate with her."
I grabbed his collar and said, "You idiot, why don't you tell her the truth?"
Jin Shaoyan said with a sob in his voice, "Brother Qiang, I'm in a bind now. Shishi has suffered so much injustice, how heartbroken would she be if she knew I lied to her?"
I shook his neck hard and said, "You still know that?"
Just then, I heard Li Shishi behind me say, "Cousin, what are you doing?"
Fortunately, my back blocked most of her view. I quickly came up with a plan, released her neck, and pretended to be looking down at her, asking, "Mr. Jin, how much did you pay for this tie?"
Jin Shaoyan: "...A few thousand yuan, I guess."
Baozi came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of food and said in a puzzled tone, "Isn't Xiao Jin wearing a crew neck T-shirt—and a tie too?"
Chapter 86 The Most Chaotic Dinner in History (Part 2)
While preparing the meal, Baozi asked me, "Did you call Liu Ji?"
I said, "I hit him. That kid is busy helping Fengfeng forge documents now."
Baozi said, "You go ahead and take care of the guests. I only have two dishes left."
I said to everyone in the room, "Sit down—who will go and call Kezi back?"
Jin Shaoyan was by the window. He leaned over the windowsill, opened his mouth to look down, but didn't know what to say, so he sat down dejectedly. Qin Shihuang picked up an old bottle cap and threw it down. Just then, Jing Ke called from downstairs, "Time to eat?" A moment later, he came running up.
Seeing that everyone at the table was already seated, I realized that we couldn't stay silent any longer, so I said, "Let me formally introduce you. This is Jin Shaoyan's younger brother—do you all remember Jin Shaoyan?"
Jin Shaoyan then pretended to be serious and asked Li Shishi in a low voice, "Have you really seen someone exactly like me before?" Then he took the opportunity to sit down next to Li Shishi.
We all cursed inwardly: "Show-off!"
Li Shishi didn't know what to say, so she could only smile slightly.
To make conversation, I asked, "Mr. Jin, do you bet on horses?"
Jin Shaoyan said, "I play around with horses occasionally. A while ago, I... uh, I even bought my brother a horse named 'Repeated Defeats and Perseverance.' Mr. Xiao, do you also know anything about horses?"
Repeated failures and persistent attempts? Isn't that just that horse that runs like a lame rabbit? Kim Il-sung and I used it to get close to Kim Il-sung. I'm actually quite interested in that, so I asked, "What, you really think it's good?"
Jin Shaoyan could no longer pretend to be stupid. He shook his head and said, "I bought it because I saw a news report. This 'repeatedly defeated but never giving up' horse has been performing poorly since it won its last match. Its owner was going to sell it to the circus, so I bought it back at a high price."
I said, "You want it to compete in races on the mainland?" I've never heard of any large-scale horse racing betting activities on the mainland.
Jin Shaoyan said, "I never thought about making it compete again. Now it just eats grass and runs around on my own lawn, which is better than a clown standing on its back to make people laugh."
Li Shishi knew about my past horse racing betting with Jin Shaoyan, and couldn't help but ask, "That horse made you lose face so much, why are you still so good to it?"
Jin Shaoyan said solemnly, "It has nothing to do with face. Its performance on the field really shocked me and made me understand many principles of life."
Li Shishi was taken aback for a moment, and then gave Jin Shaoyan a sweet smile.
I know Jin Shaoyan is using this opportunity to show off, but considering the timing, "repeated defeats and repeated attempts" was indeed something he bought before he started taking the medication, which means he really did experience something. It seems that even the old Jin Shaoyan wasn't entirely useless; at least he had a soft spot somewhere in his heart.
Just then, Baozi came out of the kitchen carrying two plates of food and said, "Qiangzi, pour everyone some wine. Why are you acting like a fool today?"
Baozi came over to set out the dishes, and Jin Shaoyan moved aside. Baozi then sat down between him and Li Shishi.
Jin Shaoyan gave me a wry smile and shrugged.
I poured wine into everyone's glass, raised it, and said, "For some of us, this is our first time meeting, let's have a drink." But actually, none of these people were meeting each other for the first time.
After we finished our drink, Baozi put down his glass and asked Jin Shaoyan, "Oh right, I haven't had a chance to ask you your name yet."
Jin Shaoyan: "My name is Jin Shao..." Where can I think of a new name in such a short time?
Li Shishi was quick-witted and said, "His name is Jin Shaomiao."
“Meow? It’s the cat’s name—” Baozi said.
At this point, Jin Shaoyan had already guessed which character Li Shishi was referring to. According to Chinese naming conventions, brothers usually share one character, and the other character either has the same radical or is chosen based on a specific meaning. The character "炎" (yan) consists of two fire radicals, so it's quite reasonable for Jin Shaoyan's younger brother to be named Jin Shaomiao.
“It’s the ‘Miao’ in ‘vastness’…” Jin Shaoyan explained.
"How is it written?" Given Baozi's level of education, I reckon she wouldn't recognize the character even if she saw it.
Jin Shaoyan had no choice but to say, "Three waters."
Ersha, while gnawing on a chicken foot, suddenly blurted out, "Water and fire are incompatible."
We all gasped. For a fool to suddenly utter such a profound statement, seemingly imbuing it with Zen-like wisdom, instantly heightened the already tense atmosphere—I think this was something Prince Dan must have taught him years ago.
Baozi scribbled on the table for a while, then chuckled and said, "It's true! But your three waters are much more powerful than your brother's two fires."
Xiang Yu laughed and said, "That's how it is, but if you add the word 'few' in the middle, doesn't the meaning change?"
Fortunately, Baozi wasn't interested in dwelling on the matter. She asked Jin Shaoyan, "Is your brother doing well abroad? We all miss him."
Jin Shaoyan forced a smile and said, "It's fine..."
Baozi, resting his chin on his hand, looked at Jin Shaoyan and said, "You brothers didn't really fall out over the property, did you?"