Chapter 3 – His Lips Almost Touched His Ear

Gu Lizhou thought he was going crazy.

Half of his cheek was pressed against the door, and both of his hands were being held down. If someone were to take a picture of this scene, it could be used as the cover for a social news article titled: “Man Caught Red-Handed in a Prostitution Raid, Scene of Anti-Prostitution Operation Exposed.”

Putting aside the fact that these people barged in recklessly without any sense of reason and looking at the slender and powerful thief pinning him down so forcefully that his ribs ached, what in the world was this “Er’Gou” they were talking about?

The way the other person spoke with such sincerity made him start to question if he had forgotten some disgraceful, unspeakable part of his past.

Just as he was about to speak, the other person’s voice rang out again.

This time, his lips were almost touching his ear, and waves of hot breath drilled into his eardrum.

“Look at you, all dressed up like a decent person. Why can’t you just find a proper job? With your looks and voice, so many people would envy you. You could be making the highest commission just selling milk tea, but instead, you…”

Zhong Weishi suddenly trailed off.

To be honest, he didn’t really know what shady business this Er’Gou had gotten himself into. Qiangzi had only mentioned he owed money, not why he owed it.

But the mood had already been set, and he couldn’t lose his momentum.

So Gu Lizhou heard the other person grit his teeth and say, “…messing with women.”

“I told you… you’ve got the wrong person…” Gu Lizhou’s handsome face was now completely distorted from being squished, and his words were slurred. As he struggled to break free, the three people behind him tightened their grip even more.

His phone had already been snatched away.

Immediately after that he felt someone take off his watch with lightning speed, and a sinful hand reached into his pocket, rummaging around.

Rummaging and rummaging.

“Boom—”

Gu Lizhou could almost hear the sound of the string called “reason” in his head snap, as if it had been burned through.

“Let go!” Gu Lizhou clenched his fists, glaring at Zhong Weishi. “Don’t touch me!”

At this point, Zhong Weishi had already grabbed the man’s wallet, but the other party’s hip was pressed firmly against the door, trapping Zhong Weishi’s fingers in his pocket.

No way out.

“You fvcking let go first, I can’t pull my hand out!” Zhong Weishi shouted back.

Gu Lizhou could clearly feel the other person gripping his wallet. “You let go of my wallet first!”

So these people were robbers?

He hadn’t been to Qingfeng Garden many times, and he hadn’t bothered to check if there were any cameras in the hallway. If these people took the money and ran, he was afraid that there probably wouldn’t be much he could do about it.

To fvcking hell with him.

Since he couldn’t reach the doorbell, he had no choice but to drop all pretense, raise his voice, and shout, “Mom! —Open the door!”

Zhong Weishi was stunned.

What the hell?

Did this guy seriously have a rich woman as his sugar mommy?

Rich people really know how to play.

Almost at the same time, the door opened from the inside.

Li Yuqin had been in the kitchen cooking when she heard some muffled noises outside the door, like people talking. She curiously walked over to check.

The peephole was blocked by Gu Lizhou’s face, so she couldn’t see anything.

She was on guard and didn’t dare to open the door. But her son’s thunderous shout gave her a fright.

Gu Lizhou’s entire weight was pressed against the door. The sudden opening caused him to lose balance, and he almost stumbled right into the entryway.

Behind him, the force holding him down suddenly loosened, but then he felt someone who also couldn’t stop in time and directly crashed into his back.

His already unstable body finally gave out completely.

With a thud, he fell to his knees onto the carpet in a very ungraceful manner.

Someone was still on top of him like a toad.

Even in this situation, that hand hadn’t forgotten to try and fish out his wallet.

How to describe that feeling.

It was probably the first time in his life he had the urge to commit murder and dismember someone.

“Weishi!” A’Wei was the first to react, quickly helping Zhong Weishi up, followed by Da Fei. “Ge! Are you alright, ge?!”

Zhong Weishi rubbed the bridge of his nose and waved his hand, smoothly slipping the wallet he had grabbed into his own pocket.

Thank goodness he wasn’t fooled and paid in advance last time, convincing him to get the “latest popular celebrity-style nasal implant.” Otherwise, it would probably have exploded by now.

Gu Lizhou finally pushed himself up from the carpet and turned around to seize up this group of robbers.

Leading the group was the guy he had just run into in the elevator, wearing a black tank top—probably one of those packs of cheap ones you could get online for 9.9 yuan, with a neckline that had stretched so much it was practically a deep V, exposing a large, tattooed chest.

A wild beast, baring its fangs and claws.

Though his face was good-looking, it was obvious that he was no good.

Next to him were two guys with buzz cuts—one fat, one thin. They looked like the kind of characters who usually die off quickly in movies due to their low IQ.

Yet, at this moment, these two fools were currently holding his phone and watch—one in each hand.

“Give me back my stuff.” Gu Lizhou said, reaching out to grab them.

Zhong Weishi slapped his hand away and righteously said, “Give what back! You should pay back the money you owe first!”

Gu Lizhou felt that communicating with these people using normal logic was pointless. His only option was to take down the leader first, so he grabbed Zhong Weishi by his loose neckline and pulled him toward himself.

The distance between them was close enough for him to clearly see his own reflection in the other’s pupils.

“Listen, I’ll say this one last time. I am not this Gou you’re talking about. Now, give. Me. My. Stuff. Back.”

His voice was deep, and the way he stared at Zhong Weishi carried a strong, oppressive force. Zhong Weishi was momentarily stunned by the glare.

“What stuff?” Li Yuqin was also confused. “Lizhou, who are these people?”

A’Wei, having watched too many anti-Japanese spy war dramas, considered himself far more experienced and intelligent than the average person. He confidently patted the man’s shoulder and said, “Little guy, nice acting skills, huh? Did you win an Oscar for that? But don’t think you can escape the real problem like this.”

Da Fei was taken aback at first, but after processing what A’Wei said, he almost wanted to applaud his Wei-ge for his sharp insight. Then, he confidently echoed, “Exactly!”

For the first time, Gu Lizhou felt how close he was to actual lunatics.

His head throbbed so much that it was about to explode.

Only one thought remained: Time to act.

He suddenly shoved the buzz-cut guy aside, slammed the tattooed man onto the shoe rack at the entrance, using his body weight to pin him down, while his other hand groped around for his wallet.

“fvck,” Zhong Weishi, being ticklish, could hardly keep from bursting out laughing as Gu Lizhou’s hands fumbled around. “What the fvck are you doing! Stop!”

Today, to project a thug-like appearance, Zhong Weishi was wearing a flashy pair of beach shorts with large, deep pockets. That big hand was wandering all over his thigh.

Gu Lizhou finally gripped the wallet, but Zhong Weishi grabbed his hand.

“Get the fvck off me!” Zhong Weishi growled, “Where are you touching!”

At this point, Gu Lizhou had completely lost control of his emotions, tossing aside all pretense of civility. He snarled back with a curse, “Let go of your fvcking hand! That’s my wallet! Believe it or not, if you touch me again, I’ll crush your balls!”

“Shit.” Zhong Weishi was utterly dumbfounded by how shameless this “Er’Gou” was. He was left speechless, unable to form a response.

A’Wei, overhearing the exchange from the sidelines, felt a twinge of pain in his own private parts. He walked over, patting Er’Gou on the shoulder, trying to defuse the situation: “Hey, that… We’re all guys here, no need to take it this far.”

Da Fei also stepped in at the right moment, “Exactly!”

The two men were locked in a tug-of-war, neither willing to let go. During the struggle, Zhong Weishi kept pinching Er’Gou’s muscles, his nails almost digging in.

Gu Lizhou, in pain from being pinched, gripped Zhong Weishi’s arm and twisted it hard.

—And then, a fantastic scene happened.

Gu Lizhou watched in disbelief as a portion of the fierce wild beast’s fake tail came off in his hand.

His palm was filled with black bits, like the dirt you scrub off in the shower.

Of course, Zhong Weishi noticed it too.

The scene was suffocatingly awkward.

At that moment, Zhong Weishi wanted to tear Gu Lizhou in half.

Not only was this humiliating, but the luxurious 100-yuan gangster special effects were completely scrubbed off!

He had been planning to use this for an audition for a gangster role!

For the sake of that half-commission, he bit the bullet and turned on his over-the-top acting, “What do you mean, your wallet! How are you going to prove it’s yours! Now that it’s in my pocket, it’s my wallet!”

Gu Lizhou snorted, a look of disdain on his face, as he forcefully yanked his wrist free. “I’ll prove it to you right now—”

But the moment he saw the wallet in his hand, his voice came to a screeching halt.

It really wasn’t his fvcking wallet!

In that split second, Zhong Weishi had slipped the other wallet from his pocket to A’Wei.

Gu Lizhou immediately caught on and turned to snatch it back.

The expensive wallet was passed around like a game of hot potato. From A’Wei, it was tossed to Da Fei, and then from Da Fei, it was thrown to Zhong Weishi.

Watching as the guy in the black tank top raised his hand, Gu Lizhou leaped into the air, only to realize it was a feint.

“Ai hei~” Zhong Weishi teased, shaking the wallet in his hand with a sly grin before tossing it back to Da Fei.

Standing at the center of the triangle, Gu Lizhou felt like a cat chasing a teasing stick, looking a bit stupid, so he ended the chasing.

He called the police to solve the problem.

Li Yuqin still hadn’t figured out what was going on when another man entered, smoking a cigarette. He had a bright red rose tattooed on his arm, surrounded by a web.

A mysterious 3D effect.

At first glance, it looked like he was wearing a sun protection sleeve.

Now that his whole crew had arrived, Zhong Weishi confidently sat down on the couch. “Close the door, release Qiangzi.”

Meanwhile, Gu Lizhou had already used Li Yuqin’s phone to dial 110.

“Hello, how can I help you?” A woman’s voice came from the speaker.

“Dude, dude, dude! Let’s talk this out!”

Da Fei and A’Wei, now in full panic mode, hurriedly returned his phone and watch, along with the wallet their ge had risked his life to snatch.

Zhong Weishi just wanted to go home at this moment.

Qiangz didn’t react, “Ge, what’s going on here?”

“Hello, how can I help you?” The woman on the phone, probably thinking the caller was in some sort of trouble, sounded a bit tense.

Before Gu Lizhou could respond, Zhong Weishi quickly spoke up, “Nothing serious. Just wanted to wish you a Happy Children’s Day!”

Everyone: “…”

After the whole police call fiasco, Zhong Weishi finally figured out the relationship between this man and Li Yuqin.

Mother and son.

Biologically related.

The ID card in the wallet revealed that this person’s surname was Gu Lizhou.

When Li Yuqin gave birth to her son, she wasn’t even 20. She came from a poor, rural area, and after paying a small fee, she was able to settle the household registration.

She had taken good care of herself and still carried an air of elegance, looking no more than in her early 40s. Standing next to her son, they looked like a kept young man and his sponsor, not like a typical mother and child.

“This is all… a big misunderstanding, dude,” Qiangzi said with a wide grin, slinging his arm around Gu Lizhou’s shoulders as he led him to the sofa. “I had no idea Auntie’s son was already so grown up. You really don’t look like mother and son at all. She looks way too young, seriously.”

Zhong Weishi had no idea what he was talking about. All he could think was: If this guy isn’t Er’Gou, then who is the real Er’Gou?

Gu Lizhou shifted away, pushing the arm off his shoulders in disgust. In the process, he accidentally bumped into Zhong Weishi’s thigh, so he quickly stood up and moved to the small sofa on the side.

After a few polite words with the police, Li Yuqin asked, “So, what exactly is going on here ya?”

Qiangzi casually grabbed a gr4p3 from the coffee table and popped it into his mouth. “It’s like this, you see, we’re the people in charge from Jubaopen Lending Company, here to collect a debt of 100,000 yuan. Here’s my business card.”

“If you ever need a loan, feel free to come to me. Code name: Phantom. No collateral needed, just a copy of your ID or title deed will do…”

Please! Stop expanding your business at a time like this, will you!

Zhong Weishi’s insides were roaring.

Sensing the heated stare directed his way, Qiangzi quickly added, “By the way, do any of you happen to know someone called Er’Gou?”

Li Yuqin said, “I don’t know anyone called Er’Gou, but I do know someone named Zhang Gou. He scammed me out of over 300,000 yuan.”

“What?” Everyone was stunned.

It all started a few months ago with a seemingly romantic encounter.

Near Qingfeng Garden, there was a large fountain square with a stunning display of colorful, magical lights that had an overwhelming visual impact, igniting the passion of many people.

Every night, many residents gathered there to engage in a physically and mentally beneficial yet the scourge of thousands of families form of artistic fitness: Square Dancing.

Those with partners will pull their partner and danced hand-in-hand, while the widowed or divorced danced lonely fan dances off to the side.

Li Yuqin belongs to the latter.

One day, a handsome young man suddenly came over and struck up a conversation: “This beautiful woman, may I have the honor of inviting you to dance to ‘Little Apple’?”

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Li Yuqin transformed the dance of ‘Little Apple’ into a romantic waltz.

The empty-nesters in the square were filled with envy.

This “wonderful” relationship was thus concluded…

“But I never imagined that he would turn out to be a scammer. He told me he was going to start a company and asked me to invest…” Li Yuqin said, sobbing uncontrollably. “He scammed me out of hundreds of thousands, my coffin all hitched up!¹Her entire savings was all used up. And then he disappeared! Even the police couldn’t find him…”

Gu Lizhou was speechless. “How old are you? How could you still fall for these tricks that scam little girls ah?”

He said this while continuously pulling tissues from the box to wipe her tears.

“Ai…” Li Yuqin’s eyes were red, and her voice trembled. “I didn’t even plan to tell you… I thought if worse came to worst, I’d just let it go…”

“How could you just let it go!” Qiangzi burst out angrily, “That fvcking bastard is worse than a beast!”

Li Yuqin was stunned by his outburst that she hiccupped and forgot to shed her tears

“Don’t worry, Auntie, leave this to me!” Qiangzi patted his chest with a righteous expression. “I’ll make sure to get your money back…”

Failing to collect the original debt but picking up a new case instead, Zhong Weishi walked out of Building 13 at Qingfeng Garden feeling like the entire afternoon had played out like a movie.

A dog blood passion and dark fantasy.

Until someone nudged his arm.

Qiangzi looked at him with anticipation in his eyes. “Ge, are we still raiding that bird’s nest?”

Zhong Weishi: “…”